Ethical Dilemmas In Health Care

According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, the Affordable care Act from President Obama gives consumers more options and benefits when seeking coverage from insurance company. It offers lowering cost as well as gets more access to high quality of care. This law creates Patient’s Bill of Rights that is very effective to protect consumers from any abuses or fraud from insurance company. Some preventive services are available to many Americans especially Medicare recipients at no cost. Not just that, they also receive a special offer of 50 percent discount for any well-known drugs in the market place under Medicare named “donut hole.” The Affordable Care Act helps other organizations and programs to convince healthcare providers

In this assignment I will be exploring the issues around communication and assessment in relation to the care given to the patient. I will look at how care was delivered and how successful it was. The NMC (2008) states that healthcare professionals must respect a person’s right to confidentiality; to ensure this I will be using pseudonyms for the service users mentioned in this assignment. I will be referring to the patient as ‘John’ and his wife as ‘Brenda’. I have gained consent from Brenda to talk about her husband’s situation in this assignment, as he did not have capacity to grant consent himself due to dementia.

A patient barrier might include having limited knowledge surrounding life-support systems and treatment options, thereby hindering their ability to fully comprehend or demand certain interventions. Good counseling is therefore essential to overcoming this barrier in implementing the patient’s true and best wishes (Kroning, 2014, p. 222). Another barrier in implementing advance directives concerns the role and influence of family members and the patient. There may be discordance between the desires of the patient and family, which can result in serious debate and tension if not addressed and taken into consideration. Physicians still may have reservations, as certain demands made by the patient may raise ethical concerns in the future, if the provider feels the interventions being done are no longer medically appropriate.

Good communication with the individual should be enhanced. Both individual and carer must compromise and negotiate to what would benefit most for the individual as long as it is safe. Thorough information should be given and must acknowledge the benefits of their choices. This is a way of recognising rights and choices of the individual. One example is the resident’s choice not to use his/her walking frame. This is one conflict of decision – making. Decision should be tailored to the needs of the resident

It is essential to manage risks associated with conflicts or dilemmas between an individual’s rights and duty of care by finding a level of balance. It is important that the care giver put personal feelings aside and look objectively at the situation. The right action should always be taken even if emotionally this is hard to do.

Sule stated that, “The Patient Bill of Right adopted by American Hospitals Association states that ‘a patient possesses the right to be informed of the medical consequences of his or her actions and decisions and refuse treatment to the extent permitted by the law’. However, this is true only if the patient is in position to understand the consequences of his treatment. Incompetent, senile patients neither have the correct judgment regarding which treatment is appropriate for them, nor are they in a state of understanding the implications of their treatment. In such case, their willingness to grant or deny consent cannot dictate the course of treatment.” Problem with the Act is being able to find that the patient component enough to make such a call. Another issue that Sule stated was on confidentiality and autonomy. According to Sule, “This is another ethical issue erupting from the conflict of patient's rights and professional ethics in nursing job and profession. The Patient Bill of Right makes it mandatory for the medical practitioners to reveal the form and extent of the ailment along with the course of treatment to be undertaken by the practitioners. However, this law of autonomy clashes with the nursing ethic that the professional should maintain high degree of confidentiality regarding the patient's health and treatment.” This can cause conflicting issues in the NP’s

Ethics are a set of moral principles that serve as a guiding philosophy for behavior. Consequently it is not a surprise that ethical dilemmas occur daily in the health care setting. Any nurse who refuses to provide care for a patient faces an ethical dilemma (Kuhn, 2012, pp. 412-418). The reasons given for refusal range anywhere from a conflict of personal values to fear of personal risk of injury. Nurses do have the right, at times, to refuse patient care assignments. The decision to accept or reject an assignment must be based upon a judgment by the nurse of the nurse 's ability to provide competent patient care. This paper aims to show both sides of the argument when it comes to nurses refusing a patient assignment. One side believes that nurses has the right to refuse patient assignment, as they must be true to themselves if they want to perform their best on the job. On the other hand, the other side believes that it is the nurse’s responsibility to care for all patients and, therefore nurses cannot simply refuse a patient.

Identify and explain two ethical issues/dilemmas in healthcare as identified and discussed in the scholarly literature (ProQuest, EBSCO,

Mrs Ford is vulnerable and will need restorative care. A vulnerable adult is defined as someone over the age of 18 who is not able to look after themselves or protect themselves from harm and might need help from care services (Lord Chancellors Department, 1997). Although DOH et al. (2009) state that there are people who want to change the term vulnerable adult to a person at risk. As stated by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006), Mrs Ford is a vulnerable adult because she is elderly, needs assistance and has a new disability. She is anxious and knowing that the nurses are treating her individually and with compassion will make her feel safer. Although she is vulnerable and at risk there is nothing to indicate that Mrs Ford does not have capacity. Mental capacity is assumed unless proven otherwise and patients should be able to make their own decision even if it is an unwise one (Mental Capacity Act, 2005). Therefore Mrs Ford can make informed decisions and consent to all aspects of her care. With Mrs Ford 's consent, her family can be involved in her care and they may be able to assist with

(1.1) In the healthcare profession various dilemmas can be encountered, sometimes everyday that put a professional in a position where they must make certain choices that can be classified as difficult or complicated depending on the individual or the situation. In the nursing profession not only do they have to consider the welfare of the patients but they also have to regard their wishes, which may create a conflict of interests in regards to promotion of well-being which would lead to the importance of informed consent. Respect for a person 's autonomy as well as respect for the individual are essential requirements; however so is promoting public interest.

Healthcare management usually involves a wide range of activities. It in loves planning, administration, regulations and legislation all aimed at enhancing the quality of the system for the benefit of the patient and the medics. Planning is important as it provides efficient health care to all who are seeking medical intervention. However, planning should not be used as an intimidating tool denying the individual his or healthcare unless such intervention is necessary to the public health interest (Brody 2010). This has been none of the ethical issues surrounding the healthcare system. There has been a debate on what entails patient autonomy and the extent to which the healthcare team should participate in decision

Nurses are constantly challenged by changes which occur in their practice environment and are under the influence of internal or external factors. Due to the increased complexity of the health system, nowadays nurses are faced with ethical and legal decisions and often come across dilemmas regarding patient care. From this perspective a good question to be raised would be whether or not nurses have the necessary background, knowledge and skills to make appropriate legal and ethical decisions. Even though most nursing programs cover the ethical and moral issues in health care, it is questionable if new nurses have the depth of knowledge and understanding of these issues and apply them in their practice

Healthcare professionals will be faced with ethical dilemmas throughout their career, particularly in the hospital environment. Having an education regarding professional healthcare ethics will provide some direction in how to best address these dilemmas at a time when either the patient or their family is in need of making decisions for themselves or their family member. It can be difficult for healthcare professionals to weigh professional protocol against their own personal beliefs and ethical understandings when determining critical care for their patient.

Terminations have always been an ethical issue within healthcare as a lot of people feel that it is morally wrong to end a life and feel that terminating a pregnancy is morally wrong euthanasia of a child. However, there are lots of reasons why a woman would want to terminate, such as rape or unplanned pregnancy. This essay will look at the ethical issues from both sides of the argument as well as how this topic is linked to legislation within the UK.

Everyday, healthcare professionals are faced with ethical dilemmas in their workplace. These ethical dilemmas need to be addressed in order to provide the best care for the patient. Healthcare professionals have to weigh their own personal beliefs, professional beliefs, ethical understandings, and several other factors to decide what the best care for their patient might be. This is illustrated in Mrs. Smith’s case. Mrs. Smith is an 85 year old who has suffered from a large stroke that extends to both of her brains hemispheres which has left her unconscious. She only has some brain stem reflexes and requires a ventilator for support. She is unable to communicate how she wishes to proceed with her healthcare. Mrs. Smith’s children, Sara and Frank have different views regarding their mother’s plan of care. The decision that needs to be made is whether to prolong Mrs. Smith’s life, as Sara would like to do, or stop all treatments and care, as Frank feels his mother would want. In the healthcare field, there are situations similar to this case that happen daily where moral and ethical judgment is necessary to guide the decision that would be best for the patient. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss, compare and contrast the personal and professional values, ethical principles, and legal issues regarding Mrs. Smith’s quality of life and further plan of care.