Beneficence is an ethical principle in healthcare that refers to the obligation of healthcare professionals to act in the best interest of their patients. It is often simplified to mean that healthcare practitioners must do good for their patients, but it is more complex than that. Beneficence involves ranking the available options for the patient from best to worst, taking into consideration the patients individual circumstances and expectations. It is important to bear the patients expectations in mind when ranking treatments because when we refer to doing "good," we are not simply referring to what is medically good for the patient, but also what is acceptable to the human being we are treating.

The principle of beneficence calls for not just avoiding harm, but also to benefit patients and to promote their welfare. It is worth emphasizing that, in distinction to nonmaleficence, the language here is one of positive requirements. Beneficence has enjoyed a historical role in the traditional practice of medicine. However, giving it primacy over patient autonomy is paternalism that makes a physician-patient relationship analogous to that of a father/mother to a child. A father/mother may refuse a childs wishes, may influence a child by a variety of ways – nondisclosure, manipulation, deception, coercion, etc., consistent with his/her thinking of what is best for the child.

In summary, beneficence is an ethical principle in healthcare that requires healthcare professionals to act in the best interest of their patients, taking into consideration the patients individual circumstances and expectations. It involves ranking the available options for the patient from best to worst and promoting the welfare of the patient. However, it is important to balance beneficence with respect for patient autonomy to avoid paternalism.