Every day healthcare patients, their families, and professionals face ethical issues. Thus at this point, when nearly a quarter of the world is in the hospitals, it is essential to know the ethical issues in healthcare. These dilemmas focus on medical treatments, practices, hospital management, and other critical matters in the health care industry. Thus if you have to make an assignment for the same topic, then you can seek Nursing Assignment Help from our experts or directly go through this guide.

Ethical issues in healthcare require an immediate response, like making decisions for patients or questions related to assisted suicide. Also, several debates need you to have an in-depth knowledge of these ethical codes in healthcare. So let’s move ahead to see what we are going to discuss in this section today.

• What are Ethical Issues in Healthcare?
• 5 Common Ethical Challenges in Healthcare Industry
• Ethical Practices in Modern Medicine

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Before moving ahead, let’s know what we mean by ethical issues.

What are Ethical Issues in Healthcare?

High ethical standards are necessary for the healthcare industry. It is the responsibility of professionals to hold themselves to the highest medical ethics standards. Ethical issues are the challenges faced by medical staff, patients, or their families while during the treatment. It includes some critical decisions that sometimes taken by patients, their family members, or doctors for the betterment of the patient. Quiet difficult to understand? Well, don’t worry. Let’s understand it with an example.

Suppose a person is suffering from enormous pain due to a lifetime ailment. So he is requesting doctors for assisted suicide. As he can never recover from the disease, he doesn’t want to be a burden on his family.

Furthermore, according to doctors Oath, “It is their primary duty to save lives.” But it is absurd to see the patient in such pain from which he can never recover. Thus in this situation, what doctors should do? Should they help the patient in assisted suicide or let him suffer through the pain?

Therefore these are some ethical issues in healthcare that doctors, patients, and their families have to face. It is only moral codes or principles which tell us what to do in such situations.

Healthcare Ethical Principles

There are four healthcare ethical principles, especially in nursing developed by Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress, two medical practitioners.

Autonomy: Specify the wishes of the patient to protect their autonomy

Justice: Follow the guidelines and treat patients alike

Beneficence: Seek patients’ best interest

Non-maleficence: what harms are avoidable

These principals can help professionals to identify ethical issues in healthcare. If you are looking for a nursing degree or hoping to become a physician in the future, then you must know these healthcare ethical principles. Now let’s learn about these ethical challenges in depth.

5 Common Ethical Challenges in Healthcare Industry (Ethical Issues in Healthcare: Definition and Examples)

There are numerous ethical challenges faced by healthcare professionals, as mentioned below:

Patience Privacy and Confidentiality

According to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, “Violating patient’s confidentiality can have legal and ethical consequences for healthcare providers.” So a healthcare practitioner can be suspended if he or she discloses information of the patient.

But suppose your patient gets a cut while attempting a murder? Then what will you do? Will law punish you for disclosing the information about that patient? Thus there can be the release of information under some specific conditions. HIPAA defines what information of the patients can be revealed and whom to.

Transmission of Diseases

The recent outbreak of coronavirus pandemic puts us in a dilemma when we can provide a patient’s health history. So is it okay to disclose a patient’s health history to protect others from infectious diseases? These ethical issues arise to safeguard others from contagious diseases.

Malpractice and Negligence by Healthcare Providers

According to a study published in the BMJ journal, “medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the US.” Patients affected by malpractice and negligence may never recover from it. Thus administrators, physicians, and nurses need to avoid such negligence.

Cultural Understanding

Healthcare professionals should have the ability to understand and take care of the cultural differences. Suppose a patient from another culture or religion may not believe in a specific procedure being performed. Then what a doctor’s prime role in that situation? Should the doctor perform the procedure anyhow, or should he stop the procedure according to the will of the patient?

Assisted Suicide by Physicians

The assisted suicide by physicians is generally known as Euthanasia. It is one of the common ethical issues in the healthcare industry. It is the act of intentionally killing someone to end terminal pain. As mentioned in the above example, what would happen if a patient would request to end his life as suffering for terminally ill disease?

So “legalization of assisted suicide by physicians is the matter of states’ right,” according to federal law. But the dilemma leaves the states to reason with residents’ right to autonomy. Also, it depends on the healthcare providers’ belief on what they ought to do, base on ethical codes.

These were some ethical issues in the healthcare industry that healthcare practitioners have to face. We hope the points mentioned above will help you to understand the topic better; else, you can take help from our tutorials.Ethical Issues in Healthcare: Definition and Examples

 

 

 

MORE INFO 

Ethical Issues in Healthcare

Introduction

Healthcare ethics is the study of how patients, families and practitioners interact with each other when dealing with healthcare issues. It encompasses both professional and ethical issues that can arise in a medical setting. Healthcare professionals and practitioners should place the needs of their patients above their own. The principle of autonomy states that patients have the right to make choices about their treatment and physicians should follow these decisions. The principle of beneficence is based on the obligation healthcare providers have to act in the best interest of their patients.”The principle of nonmaleficence states healthcare professionals have an obligation to provide care and avoid causing harm.”Justice refers to providing equal access to healthcare for all individuals.”Confidentiality means that information about a patient must not be disclosed”Veracity guarantees that a patient will receive truthful information about his/her medical situation”

Healthcare professionals and practitioners should place the needs of their patients above their own.

In healthcare, patients come first. Doctors should be willing to put their patients’ needs above their own and should not be influenced by personal or financial interests. They should also not be influenced by personal beliefs, views or biases.

The principle of autonomy states that patients have the right to make choices about their treatment and physicians should follow these decisions.

The principle of autonomy states that patients have the right to make choices about their treatment and physicians should follow these decisions. However, if a patient does not want to be treated for some reason (e.g., because there is no medical benefit), then physicians should respect this decision and not force them into treatment. On the other hand, if a patient does want treatment but there are risks associated with it (such as side effects), then physicians may intervene by offering more conservative treatments or even providing care without medications altogether.

This principle also applies when patients make requests for experimental procedures that do not have FDA approval yet; these requests must be respected unless they pose an unreasonable risk or are outside of what we know how to do safely on ethical grounds

The principle of beneficence is based on the obligation healthcare providers have to act in the best interest of their patients.

The principle of beneficence is based on the obligation healthcare providers have to act in the best interest of their patients. It states that it is unethical for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to harm patients by withholding or shortchanging them needed treatment.

Beneficence also means doing good for others; this includes helping people who cannot help themselves and treating them with respect and dignity. A doctor does not need to be legally required to do so but should feel compelled by virtue of his/her own moral compass when deciding what care he/she provides for a patient.

The principle of nonmaleficence states healthcare professionals have an obligation to provide care and avoid causing harm.

The principle of nonmaleficence states healthcare professionals have an obligation to provide care and avoid causing harm. For example, doctors are not allowed to kill their patients or cause pain-causing injuries. In addition, they cannot intentionally inflict suffering or injury on patients in any way (no matter how slight). Healthcare workers should also refrain from doing anything that is likely to increase the risk of death or disability for a patient during treatment.

The principle of beneficence states that healthcare professionals have a duty to do all they can to benefit their patients by treating them with compassion and respect while keeping them safe from harm—even if this means making difficult decisions about what has been deemed appropriate treatment options based upon clinical judgement alone without consulting family members or other stakeholders involved with patient care (such as social workers).

Justice refers to providing equal access to healthcare for all individuals.

Justice refers to providing equal access to healthcare for all individuals. Equal access means that everyone has the same opportunity and ability to receive medical treatment, regardless of their socioeconomic status or other factors that may restrict them from accessing care voluntarily.

It also means providing fair treatment and equal consideration between patients who have different needs depending on their circumstances (e.g., age, sex).

Confidentiality means that information about a patient must not be disclosed to others without a patient’s consent or legal justification.

Confidentiality is a basic right of all patients, who should be able to enjoy their medical care without fear of being judged or criticized. Confidentiality is an ethical principle that protects the privacy of patients and their personal information. It also reflects an important aspect of trust between doctor and patient: we want our doctors to keep what they know about us secret from others, so that we can feel safe confiding in them.

Confidentiality has been enshrined in law in many countries over the years, including Australia (the Australian Privacy Act 1988), Canada (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act 2000) and New Zealand(Privacy Act 1993). In many other countries this principle remains unwritten but still exists as part of everyday practice when dealing with sensitive issues such as mental health problems or drug use among young people; these areas are often particularly vulnerable given their high degree of stigmatization.*

Veracity guarantees that a patient will receive truthful information about his/her medical situation, including diagnosis, prognosis, risks, benefits, outcomes, etc.

• Veracity guarantees that a patient will receive truthful information about his/her medical situation, including diagnosis, prognosis, risks, benefits, outcomes, etc.

• Patients have a right to know what they’re getting into before they sign up for treatment or surgery. This includes being honest about the risks involved with any procedure or treatment plan.

• Doctors should always be willing and able to answer any question that their patients might have about their health care decisions—even if that means discussing things that are private or sensitive in nature (like finances).

Healthcare ethics are designed to outline the basic rights patients have when dealing with a medical practitioner or other healthcare professional.

Ethical issues are the basis of all medical care. The Hippocratic Oath, which was created in around 400 BC, is still used today as a guide to ethical behavior by physicians and other healthcare professionals. Health care ethics involve a set of values and beliefs shared by a group or community that can help us decide what is right and wrong in a given situation.

Conclusion

We believe that healthcare ethics are an important part of the healthcare system. The principles outlined in this article show how professionals should act in order for all parties involved to have a safe and ethical experience.