**Abstract**

Medical care is a dynamic process to implement and use the most recent technologies, skills, and knowledge to either maintain the good health of people or to treat sick patients. Patients have the right to receive the best possible available treatment. During the course of treatment, the patient's dignity and rights should be respected and never be compromised. A patient's right to be properly treated is one of the fundamental human rights. The healthcare system is responsible for providing efficient and sufficient healthcare facilities and training and continuously educating able medical and paramedical teams. Evidence-based medicine has been popularized in the last 40–50 years in order to raise the standard of medical practice. Medical ethics and values have been associated with medical practice for thousands of years since patients felt the need for treatment. There is no conflict between evidence-based medicine and values-based medicine, as the medical practice should be always preformed within a frame of ethics and respect of patient's values. Observing the principles of values-based medicine became very relevant as multicultural societies are dominant in some countries and hospitals in different corners of the world.

**Keywords:** values-based medicine, bioethics, patient's rights, education, dignity, history of medical ethics

### **1. Introduction**

Conventional clinical relationships are centered on a triad, consisting of the physician, the patient, and his/her family. Nowadays, individuals in need or seeking medical care, as well as their intimate circle, interact with a great variety of stakeholders and clustered interests. Three important factors contribute to this more complex situation.

The progress of life sciences and technological innovations as well as the development of the health system and the medical-industrial complex create new medical situations and redefine the role of both family members and health professionals.

The potential of modern healthcare, including resuscitation and life-sustaining technologies, their impact on the quality of life, as well as problems of costs and resource allocation in the context of market economies, also redefine the role of family members. This opens a myriad of ethical questions, from coping with frail,

sick, or disabled relatives, over socialization and commercialization of traditional household tasks, to substitute decision-making for minors and patients with diminished autonomy, as well as dealing with end-of-life situations.

The nature of neurosurgical problems forces neurosurgeons to face their patients' families in different emotional situations, frustrated to see good results, disappointed with the outcome, confused, denying, or angry. Neurosurgeons should learn the skill to absorb the first reaction of the patients' family and work with them as one team to help their loved one. The patient's family can play a very positive part in the caregiving team for the patient and may have a great and unreplaceable input for their patient care.
