The ethics of being a female patient and a female care provider in a male-dominated health-illness system.

Abstract

The ethical issues involved in being a woman, either patient or provider, in our current health‐illness care system include violations of the principles of equality, justice, and fairness; allocation of scarce resources; autonomy and informed consent; beneficence and nonmaleficence. Patient and provider need to change. Ethics for women written by women may contribute to a more ethical approach to the treatment of women in general and female patients and health care providers in particular.