One of the most important realizations I have made during my educational journey is the knowledge that I cannot memorize all content. Due to this fact, having easy access to resources as needed is of great benefit. Knowing that there are varied and complex issues in the Ethics of Health Care, below are seven websites to use as a reference:
The World Health Organization (WHO) (http://www.who.int/ethics/en/) is an important website because it provides data and statistics on topics that matter not only to public health of United States citizens, but to the health of the entire world. The website is robust with “fact sheets” that provide high level information supported with data. In addition, there is information for the many publications and programs offered by the WHO. Furthermore, there is information regarding bioethics topics including research, epidemics, long-term care, and organ/tissue transplantation. This website would be important for a health care administrator to review on a routine basis because the health care issues of the world will no doubt affect the community in which you provide health care services.
The Center for Ethics and Advocacy in Healthcare (http://www.healthcare-ethics.org/about/) has a focus on the individual and providing them with the tools needed to navigate complex ethical health care issues such as spirituality, family dynamics, and symptom management. I particularly liked the “Healthcare Resources” tab which lists organizations with a pulse on the topics and issues of today. This website is important to the health care administrator because it focuses on how to meet the needs of the individual.
American Medical Association (AMA) (http://www.ama-assn.org//ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-eth...
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... reminding health care administrators of their duties and responsibilities to patients, the organizations, and the communities in which they serve. The website also features a printable “Ethics Toolkit” that outlines the steps one should taken when navigating difficult decisions. The website is ideal for the health care administrator that wants to stay connected to their peers via networking.
The Hastings Center http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Default.aspx is a research based organization dedicated to bioethics. The websites features publications and articles relevant to the ethical issues of today in the arena of clinical trials involving human subjects. Not every organization is equipped to conduct clinical trials, but an astute health care administrator should stay up to date on the advancements made in medicine to better serve his or her patient population.
Health IT provides the protection of patients’ privacy, confidentiality, and allocating resources in a fair way across programs, services, and patients. Health IT makes available information from the health record and from many authoritative sources that informs patients and clinicians to a point that they are collaborators in the quest to improve the health of the patient longitudinally. That is, from cradle to grave. Ethical practices in end of life care or palliative care is another area where health IT can provide information to clinicians and patience to address patient issues near the end of life. This would include the options of choosing facilities for independent living, or assisted living and/or nursing care facilities. Health IT can assist patients to reenter the work force and support a valuable aspect of providing a living for those disabled or with diseases that may have reduced or eliminated their ability to secure gainful employment. Health IT is effective in teaching clinicians about how to behave with certain patient populations (Fox, Crigger, Bottrell, & Bauck, n.d., p.
Gedge, E., & Waluchow, W. (2012). Readings in health care ethics (2nd ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Broadview Press.
Wilson , James G. S., “Rights”, Principles of Health Care Ethics, Second Edition, eds. R.E. Ashcroft, A. Dawson, H. Draper and J.R. McMillan. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2007. pp. 239.
Connie M. Ulrich, PhD, RN is an associate Professor of Bioethics and Nursing center for Bioethics, Department of Medical Ethics, and Senior Fellow. Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, New Courtland Center for Transitions and Health, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Carol Taylor PhD, RN is the Director for the Center for Bioethics at Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia. Karen Soeken PhD is a Professor Emeritus at the University Of Maryland School Of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland. Patricia O’Donnell MSW, PhD is the director for the Center for Ethics, Inova Health Systems, Fairfax, Virginia. Adrienne Farrar MSW, PhD is the Chief at the Department of Social Work, Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Marion Danis MSW, MD is Head Section on Ethics and Health Policy, at the Department of Social Work, Clinical Center, at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.. Christine Grady PhD, RN is Head Section on Human Subjects Research, and Acting Chief at the Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Nursing ethics has a vast spectrum of subjects. The history of ethics was around way longer then the declaration of specific ethical issues. According to Fox, Myers and Pearlman (2007), the field of ethics consultation has been developing over the last three decades, (Kosnick 1974; Rosner 1985). Ethics has become an organized and accepted division of healthcare services. Gallagher (2010), discussed the purpose of nursing ethics is to help us think, speak and perform better in our practice. The Nursing Code of Ethics was addressed by Lachman (2009). “Futile care” is discussed by Sibbald, Downar, Hawryluck (2007). Ball (2009) addressed the need for clarification of DNR orders in surgery patients.
Garrett, Thomas, Baillie, Harold, and Garrett, Rosellen. Health Care Ethics; Principles and Problems. 4th Ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice Hall, 2001.
It is also directed, according to the code of ethics, that Healthcare executives have a fiduciary responsibility to the society and community and should act in such a way that wins their trust, confidence, and respect. Hence, it is needed that the healthcare professionals lead exemplary lives. By acting their role, they are said to be moral advocates. Every decision taken by these professionals leads to an impact on the well-being of the people; therefore, decisions should be balanced and ethical.They should safeguard the interests of every audience that they serve.
In my future role as a healthcare administrator, ethical decision making will be required to address a conflict or uncertainty regarding competing values , such as personal, professional, organizational, and societal values (Thompson, 2011). Administrators involved in this decision-making process must consider the ethical principles of justice, autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. Healthcare organizations having growing concerns over ethical issues such as:
Westrick, S. (2013). Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Steinbock, Bonnie, Alex J. London, and John D. Arras. "’Rights- Based’ Approaches." Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine. Contemporary Readings in Bioethics. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 23. Print.
...mmittees back up the patient needs, add up to a combination of decision making with clinicians and patients, propose accurate policies that develop the ethics centered outcomes (Pearlman, 2014). The staff gives this by receiving to educate the details and move on communication among the healthcare party and the kin. The people will script a answer bias on the project of information (Pearlman, 2014).
Fowler, M. D., & American Nurses Association (2008). Guide to the code of ethics for nurses: Interpretation and application. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association.
Tarzian, A. J., & Force, A. C. C. U. T. (2013). Health care ethics consultation: An update on core competencies and emerging standards from the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities’ Core Competencies Update Task Force. The American Journal of Bioethics, 13(2),
Garrett, T. M., Baillie, H. W., & Garrett, R. M. (2010). Health care ethics: Principles and problems (5thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
The history of medical research in the twentieth century provides abundant evidence which shows how easy it is to exploit individuals, especially the sick, the weak, and the vulnerable, when the only moral guide for science is a naive utilitarian dedication to the greatest good for the greatest number. Locally administered internal review boards were thought to be a solution to the need for ethical safeguards to protect the human guinea pig. However, with problems surrounding informed consent, the differentiation between experimentation and treatment, and the new advances within medicine, internal review boards were found to be inadequate for the job. This led to the establishment of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission by President Bill Clinton in the hopes of setting clear ethical standards for human research.