Universal Human Care Hospital: Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility

Working in healthcare requires an overall ethical compass to keep the law and order. As a healthcare professional, I rely on Consequential ethics, Normative ethics, and Applied ethics to influence my morality. Consequential ethics, one of the theories that center around achieving the greatest good for most of those involved states that the overall benefits should outweigh the risks. Healthcare is an industry that is patient centered. Organizations such as The Joint Commission apply these ethical standards when surveying facilities and hospitals to give accreditation or penalty. The importance of this theory stems from the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence or do no harm. If a facility is understaffed and has poorly educated workers

After working under these horrendous conditions, including lack of sleep, lack of electricity to keep the newest technology machines working, shut-down elevators and air conditioning, and an unsanitary working environment, the remaining staff members at Memorial did what they could. The reason and quantity of the medications that were found in patients’ bodies were unquestionably incorrect with the justification by Dr. Pou that she was simply trying to reduce their physical suffering and relieve their anxiety. In this case, Dr. Pou’s situation was considered malpractice, because people argued that there were other ways to help these patients. Rodney Scott, one of the last patients to leave the hospital stated, “How can you say euthanasia is better than evacuation?..If they had vital signs, then get ‘em out. Let God make that decision,” (Fink, 28). It is anticipated that nurses will experience challenging working conditions, including an environment of fear, and too much responsibilities or things to focus on. To prevent faster burnout and secondary trauma, nurses will need sufficient rest periods, emotional support especially from the hospital facilities and

Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US, right behind heart disease and cancer. More than 200,000 people die annually as a result of diagnostic mistakes and negligence by healthcare professionals (Washingtonpost, 2016). In the healthcare industry, even the smallest mistakes and oversight could lead to severe consequences for both the patient and professionals. A healthcare professional would be held liable for any discrepancies that causes harm. The following case will analyze the ethical issue and negligence that lead to the death of an elderly woman.

One of the most critical factors which contribute to the number of preventable cases of healthcare harm is the culture of silence surrounding these cases. The fear of medical providers to report incidences is related to the possibility of punishment and liability due to a medical error (Discovery, 2010). The criminalization of some acts of medical error has resulted in job dismissal, criminal charges and jail time for some healthcare workers. This is despite the fact that the system they are working in helped to create the situation which led to the error in the first place. Human error, due to fatigue and system errors can result in deadly consequences, but by criminalizing the error it effectively shuts down the ability to correct the root problem. Healthcare workers, working at all levels within the medical system, can provide valuable input on how to improve the processes and prevent harm from occurring (Discovery, 2010).

In many ways, the hospital system in America is set up mirroring our government. They are similar in the way that checks and balances have been set in place to ensure the best possible care is delivered to patients. With these checks and balances there are three main bodies; the governing board, medical staff, and executive management (Showalter, 2017). The duties and responsibilities of each body many times is to oversee and continually check the others. A prime example of this system can be seen through the case of Moore v. The Board of Trustees of Carson-Tahoe Hospital, which took place in Nevada and was heard before the Supreme Court of the state in 1972 (Moore v. Board of Trustees of Carson-Tahoe Hospital, 1972). Specifically, in this case, the duty of the governing board to “exercise reasonable care in selecting and retaining medical staff” is questioned in contrast with the right of the physician to have “due process… when disciplinary action is taken” (Showalter, 2017). In hopes of changing a decision by the governing board, and attempting to reverse the decision of a lower court, the appellant, Dr. Moore, brought the case against Carson-Tahoe Hospital (Moore v. Board of Trustees of Carson-Tahoe Hospital, 1972).

It is often recommended for (HCO)’s to have a corporate compliance plan to be more efficient, reduce errors, and not have small errors turn into large errors. As (OIG) it’s a necessary and fundamental need to incorporate a corporate compliance plan to have for staff and management to stay organized and lessen the chance of fraud, waste, and abuse in the company. Stated by, (Cleverly, Song, & Cleverly, 2011), it is effective only if it includes management support, effective communication, continuous monitoring, and individual accountability. All these aspects are a continual monitoring requirement as long the corporate compliance is in place for the duration.

While the seriousness of a patient’s death should be investigated, the hospital failed to act promptly and investigate the supervisor’s or human resource (HR) department’s denial of reasonable accommodations or the previous errors made by the nurse. Therefore, the wrongful termination seems more likely to have been the case in this situation. The defense will show that rather than terminating her employment earlier the hospital waited until something catastrophic happened. The nurse took appropriate action discussing her health condition diagnosed by her physician that precludes her from working in the ER at full capacity with her supervisor. The nurse should have been given alternative assignments as appropriate or disability leave if no other alternative was available and should not have been terminated wrongfully after the incident (Pozgar,

This paper is about the Case of Jacob and his diseased leg. Clinical negligence is one the main causes that led to the infection of Jacobs’s leg. It later resulted in his life being altered due to the fact that it prolonged his healing process because of a mistake that his own physician had made. The key component of integrity and honesty wasn’t exercised in this situation because of the lack of maintaining high moral and ethical conducts when treating Jacob. Due to this negligence, the consequences will be affected by both parties in which will result in taking it to the next level by taking Dr. M to court. This case should be treated as a civil action law suit because a wrongful act was committed. The use of clinical protocols helps healthcare professionals establish appropriate treatments and care for the patients.

The main objective of healthcare professionals is to provide the best quality of patient care and the highest level of patient safety. To achieve that objective, there are many organizations that help improve the quality of care. One of the best examples is the Joint Commission. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is not free from total risks. In healthcare activities, there are possible errors, mistakes, near miss and adverse events. All of those negative events are preventable. But, it is clear that errors caused in healthcare result in thousands of deaths in the United States.

University Hospital is a well known hospital with a level 1 trauma treatment center for the tri-county area of a northwestern state, the hospital enjoys the fact they are known for their promising reputation among healthcare professionals and the public they serve. Jan Adams is an OR supervisor that has been working there for ten years, as a professional she makes surgeons follow protocol as required and enjoys working with trauma patients. One Friday night, which is the busiest day of the week for the trauma department; the unit was notified that a helicopter was on its way with a 42 year old man who had been in a car accident. Shortly after the patient arrived to the trauma center, the resident and other medical staff noted that he was in very bad physical conditions, needed immediate surgery or otherwise he was going to die. The issue was that the on call surgeon had to be present during the surgery and had not yet arrived, but regardless of the matter and protocol they proceeded with medically treating the patient immediately. The concern is that in doing so they violated medical procedures and put the patients safety at risk, this lead to a long list of ethical issues for example, patient well-being, impaired healthcare professional, adherence to professional codes of ethical conduct, adherence to the organization’s mission statement, ethical standards, and values statements, management’s role and responsibility, failure

Over the last 15 years or so a number of cases concerning patient care and safety have come to light prompting investigations and inquiries that have led to changes in the way care is delivered. These include inquiries at Winterbourne View hospital, Mid-Staffordshire hospital(Mid staffs) and Harold shipman to name a few.

Executives regularly encounter a variety of ethical issues-- from organizational issues, such as interactions with suppliers, to the complex clinical issues of end-of-life patient care decisions. To ensure these wide-ranging ethical decisions are being made effectively and in the best interest of patients, employees and the community, healthcare leaders need to set the ethical tone of the organization.

Ethical and legal concepts, including specific federal regulations, required of healthcare organizations to ensure the delivery of high quality healthcare that protects patient safety

“Dr. DoRight is now the President of “Universal Human Care Hospital,” where he is responsible for all departments within the hospital and the large amount of patients within the

In the health care system, a multitude of errors occurs on a daily basis. Doctors, nurses, orderly’s, etc., everyone in health care settings has responsibilities that warrant careful attention. This was exhibited in the case study titled ‘An Extended Stay’. In this case study, we are introduced to a middle-aged man in his 60s named Mr. Stanley Londborg. He presented with several health conditions, including a seizure disorder, hypertension (also known as high blood pressure), and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Londborg was no stranger to the hospital and was known fairly well by faculty members. Londborg paid a visit to the Emergency Room at the hospital complaining of wheezing and breathing complications. The physician that examined Mr. Londborg yielded his symptoms as an acute worsening of