Ethical Self-Assessment HCS/545-Health Law and Ethics September 15, 2014 Kenneth Pincus Ethical Self-Assessment The history of healthcare is one of constant discovery, progress, and invention. Health law and ethics describes the behavior of the professionals operating within the health care industry. Those involved in this decision-making process must consider ethical principles including justice, autonomy, beneficence and nonmaleficence as well as professional and organizational ethical standards and codes. Many factors have contributed to the growing concern in healthcare organizations over ethical issues, including issues of access and affordability, pressure to reduce costs, mergers and acquisitions, financial and other resource constraints, and advances in medical technology that complicate decision making near the end of life. Healthcare executives have a responsibility to address the growing number of complex ethical dilemmas they are facing, but they cannot and should not make such decisions alone or without a sound decision-making framework.
These issues can range from facility issues to complex clinical issues, such as end of life decisions with patients. To make sure that the wide range of ethical issues are dealt with effectively, and in the best interest of the patients and the facility, management needs to set the ethical tones for the organization. Leaders and managers can start by establishing a systematic approach to ethics so that when an ethical issue does come up, the health care facility's actions will match the facility's core values. Leaders and managers need to identify and discuss ethical challenges, determine how to approach them, and provide practical insight to help maintain and enhance ethical
They must not only be concerned with patient’s and family members but they too must look at their employees and make sure they have a focus and the tools they need to reach the goals and provide safe, efficient, quality healthcare. They must be able to handle any ethical issues. There must be a focus point so that employees have a goal in site to reach for. Leadership is the backbone for nursing and healthcare providers. References Aitamaa, E., Leino-Kilpi, H., Puukka, P., & Suhonen, R. (2010).
Their professional responsibilities exceed any personal values they may have while on the job. At the same time, the HIM’s road is paved with unexpected ethical dilemmas that must be dealt with precisely as outlined by federal laws, regulatory rules and a strict code of ethics. The management of patient health information has been an area for concern for everyone involved in the delivery of healthcare since the recognition and need to document scientific research and medical discoveries. Medical science would not be advanced as it is today had it not been for the enlightened foresight of our early physicians and scientists who aspired to share and record their experiments and outcomes. At the expense of human subjects, great medical breakthroughs occurred that are still in practice today.
If the consent is not given by a patient the practice, physician, or the healthcare worker can be held liable in a lawsuit. It is also important to show empathy and compassion to a patient to make them feel that they are welcomed. A healthcare worker should also know when to draw the line with a patient to avoid any kind of harassment issues or to make the patient feel uncomfortable. In any healthcare facility a patient’s need for care should be the main priority, and the healthcare worker should make sure that the priority is met. It has also been shown in the Medical Law and Ethics course that it is a must that all healthcare workers know and understand the legal
Due to the need for policy review it is important to follow these steps in order to ensure and improve upon the health care system. Policies affect everyone in some way; therefore careful consideration must be given to a policy proposal. The Formulation Process The formulation process makes for a great discussion
Doctors who lack proper training or those who have impairment problems tend to believe that their patients are honest about issues concerning prescriptions. These may include certain issues such as losing prescriptions, or early refills. This, however, only happens when the doctor fails to identify a drug abuse problem in the patient. Another ethical dilemma in the same field occurs when doctors do not disclose full patient history in the medical file of the patient. This may cause other doctors to prescribe the wrong drug thus putting the life of the patient at risk, either due to possible
This is because, people in this industry deal with such situations and circumstances, everyday, which have a direct bearing on another person's life. That is why, it is mandatory for all healthcare organizations to have an ethics committee, a written code of ethics and written policies and procedures on ethical decision making, so that the interests of all the parties, whether the patient, his family members, the organization itself, caregivers and the community itself, are properly looked into and balanced out. What are the ethical issues which are faced by chiropractors? For the chiropractor in a traditional medical setting, ethical decisions occur occasionally and at times the chiropractor may face ethical dilemmas. In contrast, the correctional chiropractor may face ethical situations daily.
Communication Opinion HCS/320 Communication is a very important skill for every human to have, even more important when that communication involves your health. Which is why it is so vital for a physician or any other health care employee to have good and effective communication skills. In order to fully assist a patient the communication between the physician and patient should have a shared understanding. Without this very important tool in the health care field, the industry would do horrible. So in order for personnel in the health care field to have effective communication they have to follow a few basic elements and rules.
Professional ethics however does often focus primarily on the conduct of the individual members and staff that are directly attending to the individual needs of the patients. However, it is the ethical responsibility of those in charge to also hold themselves accountable for those that they are in charge of overseeing. For everything that happens there is a need for the person that has made the mistake to be held accountable, as well as, those who are over seeing them. Ethically health care workers are held to high standard of service in order to protect their patients, and this will mean that leaders and managers ethically take on the responsibility of being held accountable not only for those patients who they serve personally, but also those that they are overseeing to care for their