Technology today is so advanced a computer can now tell if a patient should die or have medical treatment to keep them alive. According to the article, Medical Technology and Ethical Issues by William E. Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey, there is a lot of controversy whether this RIP program should be the one to call the shots for patients. I believe this RIP program should be a tool for doctors to use to quickly help the patient. Technology like this RIP program does not control what is done to a patient, but it helps doctors make a quick diagnosis, to help save lives. By allowing emergency rooms to use this RIP program, it allows fast and accurate results to see what is wrong with the patient. I am for the RIP program because I believe it has a better outcome for the patient overall verses the time it would take for a human to come up with the diagnosis. Yes, there is a …show more content…
Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey make many valid points that I agreed with about this RIP program. They make the argument that “within milliseconds the program will use statistics to analyze the information put in, and makes a prognosis on the likelihood of survival” (Thompson, Hickey, 2). The program keeps the percentage of error slim so that the proper treatment can be administered. There is a specialist from Britain who supports this RIP program, David Bihari, believes “that because there is a lack of intensive care facilities, and as many as one in four patients are turned away, this program provides vital information about who is likely to benefit from the treatment and who will not” (Thompson, Hickey, 3). This is a way for hospitals to become efficient and work smoothly with getting patients what they need in a timely manner. The emergency room can become less hectic and patients can been seen faster with a diagnosis just seconds away. If this program can save lives and produce less mistakes than a human can then I believe that all hospitals should have this on
According to a doctor in the documentary, people are coming to the ICU’s to die. (Lyman et al, 2011) Due to the fact that technology to sustain life is available the decision to end life has become much more complicated yet more people die in hospitals then anywhere else. (Lyman et al, 2011) The story of Marthe the 86 year old dementia patient stood out to me upon viewing the documentary because I recently just had my great grandmother go through the same situation. (Lyman et al, 2011) Marthe entered the ICU and was intubated for two weeks while her family members decided whether to perform a tracheotomy or take her off life support. (Lyman et al, 2011) The family was having a tough time deciding due to the fact that the doctors could sustain Marthe’s life if they requested it. Marthe ended up being taken off the ventilator and to everyone’s surprise was able to breathe but, a day later she could no longer do so and now she has been on life support for a year. (Lyman et al, 2011) Another patient that I took particular interest in was John Moloney a 53 year old multiple myeloma patient who has tried every form of treatment with no success. (Lyman et al, 2011) Despite trying everything he still wanted treatment so he could live and go home with his family but ended up in
However it can also make room for medical, legal and ethical dilemmas. Advances in medical technology enable individuals to delay the inevitable fate of death, overcome cancer, diabetes, and various traumatic injuries. Our advances in medical technologies now allow these individuals to do things on their own terms. The “terminally ill” state is described as having an incurable or irreversible condition that has a high probability of causing death within a relatively short time with or without treatment (Guest, p.3, 1998). A wide range of degenerative diseases can fall into either category, ranging from, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease and many forms of cancer. This control, however, lays assistance, whether direct or indirect, from a
...benefits of this type of clinical decision support system include easy access to information and patient records, provision of timely support throughout the care process, reduced costs, enhanced efficiency, and reduced patient inconvenience. However the disadvantages include potential difficulties in interpreting information, difficulties in handling the huge amount of nursing literature, and probability of additional demands to care process.
...h the disease. Doctors or patients should not use that as an excuse to go through with PAS. Kaveny says, “…they have argued that PAS would be just the first step down a slippery slope” (1), which is very true because the faults that will come along with PAS will eventually cause the downfall of our health system. It will do that mainly because how could anyone trust a doctor that gives up so easily.
... middle of paper ... ... Many such scoring systems have been successfully developed in emergency rooms and intensive care unit patients (Howell et al. 2009; Prytherch et al. 2010; Kellet & Deane 2006; Subbe et al. 2001).
Ethical decisions are being made by terminally ill patients as they face death. Some are choosing to end life through PAS, physician-assisted suicide. Dr. Jack Kevorkian has been helping patients end life through his machines. The public opinion is the use of this machine is considered murder, but some have changed their thinking and created laws to make it legal for a physician to help a terminally ill patient die. Physician assisted suicide is a dignified way to end life.
Before, there were no breakthroughs with the opportunity of saving lives. Innovations in medical technology made contributions to correct abnormal heartbeats and save lives by using a defibrillator and modern respirator. Who would know that the rapid discoveries would include successfully giving patients surgical transplants? Furthermore, President Lyndon Johnson implemented an executive policy requiring the usage of medical response trauma teams. Since 1976, this executive order has allowed the widespread use of CPR, and organizations like the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association were founded. “About 6.4 million people now survive angina chest pain each year, while an additional 700,000 people survive a heart attack each year (pg. 15 of Last Rights) Despite these remarkable breakthroughs that help those badly injured, the law becomes vague and allows more opportunities for misinterpretation on defining death. As a result, this could be advantageously used against the best interest of others and the government. “This ten-year mishmash of laws is what led the previously mentioned President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, established by an act of Congress in 1978 , to tackle the first task of defining death.” (pg. 81). The President’s Commission forced the U.S Supreme Court and
...ntroduction of these two initiatives, there has been documented evidence of reduced incidences. Unfortunately, the human factor is still and will always be an issue. Success in clinical environments will only come if these tools are implemented and used properly, not just as “a tick box exercise” (Featherstone, et al., 2010).
In Rethinking Life and Death: The Collapse of Our Traditional Values, Peter Singer examines ethical dilemmas that confront us in the twentieth century by identifying inconsistencies between the theory and practice of ethics in medicine. With advancements in medical technology, we focus on the quality of patients’ lives. Singer believes that in this process, we have acknowledged a new set of values that conflicts with the doctrine of the sanctity of life.
The method that I had stated previously leads to better outcomes because it decreases the amount of hospital readmissions. This is because patients that come to the ED have a slight chance of having their issues resolved. By placing a person at the homes of the patient to provide consistent care for them, their conditions can be monitored and assessed based on their symptoms if they develop. If some symptoms develop that the healthcare provider can solve, than that is one case of a hospital readmission avoided. This could also potentially reduce the costs incurred
...s throughout a patients stay, can significantly compromise patient care. I do not believe that anyone is willing to take that chance. Universal Protocol needs to be preconditioned, and then it is a fundamental value that is never going to change (Laureate Education, 2010).
...be beneficial for the hospital. The nurses are the front runners in patient care, and their input should be taken into serious consideration. Testing this plan, and revising it before it is fully implemented, can only have positive outcomes for the hospital and patient care.
In closing, despite all of the different opinions that people have on PAS, there are many good outcomes that come with the decision. Having the right to make a “choice” is what PAS comes down to. Many argue that it is inhumane, while many will argue that it is a choice. If choosing PAS as a last dying right, then one should respect that choice. It is a choice and only the patient should have the right to choose.
...uys out. In conclusion, a warning, technology is there to guide and help a physician it is not, nor has it ever been intended to replace the physician patient relationship.
Critics to the idea of providing dying patients with lethal doses, fear that people will use this type those and kill others, “lack of supervision over the use of lethal drugs…risk that the drugs might be used for some other purpose”(Young 45). Young explains that another debate that has been going on within this issue is the distinction between killings patients and allowing them die. What people don’t understand is that it is not considered killing a patient if it’s the option they wished for. “If a dying patient requests help with dying because… he is … in intolerable burden, he should be benefited by a physician assisting him to die”(Young 119). Patients who are suffering from diseases that have no cure should be given the option to decide the timing and manner of their own death. Young explains that patients who are unlikely to benefit from the discovery of a cure, or with incurable medical conditions are individuals who should have access to either euthanasia or assisted suicide. Advocates agreeing to this method do understand that choosing death is a very serious matter, which is why it should not be settled in a moment. Therefore, if a patient and physician agree that a life must end and it has been discussed, and agreed, young concludes, “ if a patient asks his physician to end his life, that constitutes a request for