Chapter Three

Elder mistreatment is explored from the perspective of the health care professional, beginning with a brief review of relevant values and ethical concepts. These include beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, confidentiality, paternalism, filial piety, and justice. The chapter then raises several ethical dilemmas faced by health care professionals in evaluating, reporting, and caring for cases of elder mistreatment. These include the difficulty in balancing patient autonomy with the obligation to prevent them from harm, the problem of confidentiality and reporting requirements, the impact of reporting on relationships with patients and other professionals, and the problems in working with patients and their families. Approaches to developing appropriate institutional responses are suggested. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the three cases.