Which term describes the moral obligation to promote good in health care?

• A. Nonmaleficence
• B. Social determinants of health
• C. Beneficence
• D. Legislative branch

Answer: (C)

Beneficence is the obligation to actively promote the patient’s well-being and take actions that benefit others. In health care this means offering interventions that improve health, prevent harm, and support a patient’s welfare, even when doing so requires time, effort, or resources. It’s about doing good for the patient, not just avoiding harm.

Nonmaleficence is the duty to do no harm, which is about avoiding actions that could cause harm; beneficence goes a step further by focusing on actively promoting good. Social determinants of health refer to the broader conditions that influence health outcomes, such as housing or income, and while important, they describe factors rather than the physician’s active moral obligation to promote good. The legislative branch is unrelated to the clinician’s ethical duties in patient care. So the term that best describes the duty to promote good in health care is beneficence.