Question

In healthcare, issues involving patient care can be complex and the 'right' answer to a problem may either be difficult to discern or may simply be the 'least bad' choice of possible alternatives. For this assignment, you will identify and present an ethical dilemma. You will conduct research and present both sides of the issue in a point/counterpoint format to demonstrate that both sides of some ethical issues can be defended based on ethical theories or principles.

1. Identify an area in healthcare management that presents an ethical dilemmas.

2. Research perspectives on the dilemma identified.

3. Provide a counter-point argument; explain the conflicting perspectives on the identified dilemmas.

4. Once you have completed the point/counter-point, determine which ethical theory or principle is the best ethical choice for the dilemma. Defend your answer with supporting evidence, relevance of understanding your personal values framework, and sound logic.

Answer 1

Ans - 1) area in healthcare management that presents an ethical dilemmas are -

• Patient Confidentiality. Information about a patient's medical condition is considered private. ...
• Patient Relationships. ...
• Malpractice And Negligence. ...
• Informed Consent. ...
• Issues Related To Physician Assisted Suicide .

• Patient Confidentiality -

Information about a patient’s medical condition is considered private. Violating a patient’s confidentiality can hurt the patient and have legal and ethical consequences for the health care worker. The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA) has drawn up specific laws that govern the release of a patient’s medical information. These laws state clearly the type of patient information that can be released to third parties and which information must be kept confidential. The laws also set forth who can see the information and who cannot. Although these laws appear straightforward, there are grey areas such as when withholding information about a patient’s condition would be unethical because it could harm the patient or someone else.

• Patient Relationships -

Health care providers are ethically prohibited from entering into personal relationships with patients in the course of providing treatment. Violating this policy, especially if it involves a sexual relationship, can result in losing a license to practice, in being sued and in being forbidden to provide any kind of healthcare services in the future. Entering into a sexual relationship with a patient is considered a serious violation of that patient’s rights and an act of misconduct and abuse of power on the part of the health care worker. When under medical care, a patient is considered vulnerable and unable to defend or protect themselves. Even the appearance of a sexual relationship with a patient can have serious consequences for a health care practitioner.

• . Malpractice And Negligence -

Health care providers are always at risk for being charged with malpractice and negligence. A patient who is harmed by defective medical equipment or products, injured in the course of a medical treatment or placed in danger because of medication errors can sue to recover their losses. Patients can also sue when health care providers fail to provide a critically needed treatment or service. Due to the ever-present threat of litigation, health care providers must carefully cover all the bases in the course of providing patient care.

•. Informed Consent -

In order for any medical treatment to be considered legal, the patient must first provide the health care worker with an informed consent. Unless a patient provides informed consent for a procedure, that procedure can considered an assault or even a homicide if the patient were to die as a result of treatment. Informed consent means that a patient has had all of their questions answered and freely agrees to a treatment or procedure with full knowledge of the risks, benefits and possible consequences. Informed consent also means that patients are informed about other options as well as about the option of doing nothing.

• Issues Related To Physician Assisted Suicide (PAD)

Most health care professionals are aware that physician assisted dying is already legal in states.These days, physicians are broadening the concept of “Do no harm” to include providing relief for those who are dying and suffering as a result of a fatal illness.We are moving into an era that will provide increasing options for medical care. Innovative technologies, cutting-edge medical procedures and state-of-the-art treatments are designed to give people longer and more productive lives. But as we move forward, concerns about the future of medical care and its effect on the patients it was designed to treat will become increasingly important.

2 ) Research perspectives on the dilemma are -

The major ethical issues in conducting research are: a) Informed consent, b) Beneficence- Do not harm c) Respect for anonymity and confidentiality d) Respect for privacy.

In practice, these ethical principles mean that as a researcher, you need to: (a) obtain informed consent from potential research participants; (b) minimise the risk of harm to participants; (c) protect their anonymity and confidentiality; (d) avoid using deceptive practices.

Speech pathologists are confronted by ethical issues when they need to make decisions about client care, address team conflict, and fulfil the range of duties and responsibilities required of health professionals. However, there has been little research into the specific nature of ethical dilemmas experienced by speech pathologists and whether the nature of ethical conflict changes as they acquire experience in the professional workforce. Speech pathologists' perceptions of ethical issues provide insight into factors impacting upon quality of care in contemporary healthcare settings.

3 ) The dilemma is sometimes used as a rhetorical device.

There are several types of moral dilemmas, but the most common of them are categorized into the following: 1) epistemic and ontological dilemmas, 2) self-imposed and world-imposed dilemmas, 3) obligation dilemmas and prohibition dilemmas, and 4) single agent and multi-person dilemmas.

Some examples -

• The Death Penalty.
• Doctor-Assisted Suicide.
• Ending the Drug War.
• The Draft.
• Abortion.
• Government Spying.
• Prison Reform.
• Legalizing (or decriminalizing) Marijuana.

they are sometimes used interchangeably, they are different: ethics refer to rules provided by an external source (for example, codes of conduct in workplaces or principles in religions); morals refer to an individual's own principles regarding right and wrong.

Moral conflict occurs in disputes when individuals or groups have differences in deeply held moral orders that do not permit direct translation or comparison to one another. Moral orders include the knowledge, beliefs, and values people use to make judgements about the experiences and perspectives of others.

Solving Ethical Dilemmas

1. Determine whether there is an ethical issue or/and dilemma. ...
2. Identify the key values and principles involved. ...
3. Rank the values or ethical principles which – in your professional judgement – are most relevant to the issue or dilemma.

4) "Relevant evidence" means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

Sufficient evidence refers to evidence of such probative value as to support the verdict of the jury or a finding of fact by the court. ... Conclusive evidence is evidence that serves to establish a fact or the truth of something.

Types

• Digital evidence.
• Personal experience.
• Physical evidence.
• Relationship evidence.
• Scientific evidence.
• Testimonial evidence.
• Trace evidence.

Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses Well done systematic reviews, with or without an included meta-analysis, are generally considered to provide the best evidence for all question types as they are based on the findings of multiple studies that were identified in comprehensive, systematic literature searches.