Ethical Dilemmas Essay

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Ethical Dilemmas In Medical Profession [Type the author name] 4/20/2013 Among the many ethical problems the medical Assistant profession encounters, the most frequent are conflicts of loyalties and obligations and issues on breach of confidentiality. When medical assistant face ethical dilemmas their actions must be defensible according to moral and ethical standards. Therefore making decisions when confronted by these situations the When medical professional must responsibly weigh the factors. Conflicts among loyalties and obligations to clients, physicians and employing institutions arise because when medical assistants have a unique position in the health care system. According to the AMA's Code of Medical Ethics, the medical assistant’s first loyalty is to the client. However, it is not always easy to determine which action best serves the client’s needs. (AMA) A case in point is a patient who is hospitalized with multiple fractures and lacerations caused by an automobile accident. Her step daughter who was killed in the accident was taken to the same hospital. The patient constantly asks the medical assistant about her step daughter. However the doctor told the medical assistant not to tell the patient about her step daughter’s death without giving any reasons for such instructions. Hence, the medical assistant encounters an uncomfortable position of whether to tell the truth or withhold it. The moral principles in conflict are honesty and loyalty because the medical assistant wants to be honest with the patient without being disloyal to the doctor. Another issue of conflict is breach of confidentiality. American Medical Association defines breach of confidentiality as a disclosure to a third party, without patient consent or court order, of private information that the physician has learned within the patient-physician

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