Question

Select an ethical dilemma related to health policy from the categories of moral values, professional regulation, health of individuals in society, or distributive justice. What are the controversies surrounding this issue? What are the opposing ethical principles? How has past or current health policy addressed this dilemma?

Answer 1

There are many problems faced by the patients and professionals in the health care system. Professionals follow their own patterns for treating a patient and they are not concerned for the rights of the individuals. Some of the ethical dilemmas is how to determine whether a patient is eligible for organ transplant,how terminally ill patients should have access to experimental medical technologies,how the professionals should define medically unneccesary care for patients with a terminal medical condition or serious degenerative chronic conditions,how life-shortening analgesic be lawful. Life sustaining medical treatment is a treatment given to sustain life wheb body is unable to do by itself by providing artificial respirators,ventilators,feeding tubes etc.

The controversies is that it is unethical to go without life sustaining medical treatment(LSMT) for patients who are mentally incapacitated but are stable. The ethical dilemma discussed above is one of the dilemma to provide such experimental medical technologies in such patients.

Some factors oppose ethical principles such as rules of professional responsibility, the importance of universal and personal values and the ethics of individual responsibilities.

The health policy has addressed this dilemma by Medical Ethics Committe(MEC) to help health care providers apply ethical principles to their actions. And some universal values have been introduced that every individual have right to make their independent decisions about their health care and this is based on their own values. The health care professionals requires compassion,equality of opportunity is provided and every patient should be treated fairly. Justice and truthfulness are the main principles of health care ethics in health policy.