Question

Choose any ethical issue in healthcare that interests you in medical ethics.
• Explain why you selected this topic and why it merits in-depth analysis.
• Analyze the implications of the issue for both society and the individual.

Answer 1

Ethical Issues in Healthcare?

High ethical standards are necessary for healthcare. These standards fall under the umbrella of health or medical ethics, the field of applied ethics that is concerned with moral decision making applied to medical practices and policies.

A standard approach to health ethics, developed by Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress, often refers to the following four basic principles when evaluating the merits and difficulty of a medical procedure:

• Autonomy: Determine the wishes of the patient to protect their autonomy.
• Justice: Follow the due process to determine limits on healthcare and treat patients alike.
• Beneficence: Seek the patient’s best interest and assess what counts as goods to be pursued
• Non-maleficence: Determine what counts as harms to avoid.

Malpractice and Negligence

Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., according to a study published in the BMJ journal. Despite the decreasing rate of malpractice suits, patients who are affected by it may never recover. For others, it may take years.

The high-risk nature of the healthcare atmosphere can increase the likelihood of malpractice. Administrators, as well as physicians and nurses must cover the essential responsibilities of patient care to avoid litigation. In the case of hospitals, ordinary negligence can be due to defective medical equipment, a misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis.

Sometimes conditions can come up in unusual ways that wouldn’t make sense unless a doctor was looking for the symptoms. Lines can be blurred when doctors disagree about procedures or necessary tests to provide accurate treatment. In cancer cases, a diagnosis can be challenging to prove, as there is a possibility that cancer would have progressed the same way regardless of when doctors started a treatment.

The reason for selecting this ethical issue because now a days this issue is high in health care systems. This leads to a high decline in health care quality and heath of the patients. And a higher number of cases are recorded in health registers related issues. This practice is a major reason for declining standard of health care. The health of a patient is determined by his heath delivery system. Good and rich health system is important to as. So by analysing in depth about this issue can recognise more ways to overcome the problems and can show a new way to practice health care. There is a need to analysis the issue now especially current health system.

• The implications of the issue for both society and the individual

The side effects of medical malpractice can vary from person to person, and some may not even be aware they were the victim of medical negligence until it is too late. Consequences of medical malpractice can extend far beyond the physical scars, as emotional and psychological trauma can be sustained due to the stress, isolation and vulnerability the victim might experience

Whether the negligence that has occurred is due to an omission in treatment or procedure, or by the addition of unnecessary medication or treatment, the consequences of malpractice kill or injure approximately 195,000 people each year, according to the Healthgrades Safety in American Hospitals study.

Some consequences of medical malpractice include:

• Birth defects
• Chronic pain
• Disability
• Disfigurement
• Increased medical expenses
• Infertility
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of opportunity
• Lost wages/loss of employment

The effects of medical malpractice also vary by the type of injury a person sustained. A surgery error could have multiple life-altering side effects. Furthermore, many persons experience psychological distress and find themselves unable to trust medical personnel after such an incident.