Gillon R. Defending the four principles approach as a good basis for good medical practice and therefore for good medical ethics. J Med Ethics 2015;41:111–6.

The author misrepresented Beauchamp and Childress when he wrote: ‘My own view (unlike Beauchamp and Childress who explicitly state that they make no such claim (p. 421)¹, is that all moral agents whether or not they are doctors or otherwise involved in healthcare have these prima facie moral obligations; but in the context of answering the question ‘what is it to do good medical ethics ?' my claim is limited to the ethical obligations of doctors'.

The author intended and should have written the following: ‘My own view, unlike Beauchamp and Childress who explicitly state that they make no such claim (p.421)¹ is that these four prima facie principles can provide a basic moral framework not only for medical ethics but for ethics in general’.