The role of doctors, nurses and physicians in general is to help out their patients and make them healthy. The patients pay for their treatment, but some may feel that their payment is not enough or may want to give extra. This exchange of money for service is extremely personal since this service is the provider of their continued health, or at least genuine attempts to do so. Since it is so personal, patients may feel that they are still in debt to their healthcare providers even if proper payment was done. These patients may give their healthcare professional a gift to show their thanks. Should the healthcare professional accept or reject these gifts? Currently, it seems that the decision is up to the healthcare professional’s discretion.
To begin with, some sort of loose definition must be set for the types of gifts that are being discussed. Gifts that would be deemed as just a thanks between a healthcare professional and a patient are also the most common types of gifts (Spence). These are chocolate and liquors, which have low monetary value and cannot be exchanged easily for their face value; meaning, once the healthcare professional receives these gifts they are most likely stuck with them. This is important, because gifts other than money usually have some thought process behind them and requires more effort to go out and accquire them. This would mean that the patient is thinking about the doctor and that their thanks are most likely genuine. There can still be hidden motives behind these ‘genuine’ gifts, but both sides of the argument have to be laid down before it can be further discussed.
If a gift were to be accepted it may taint the rest of the healthcare procedure. As Weijer writes: “The physician-patient rel...
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Spence, Sean A. "Patients Bearing Gifts: Are There Strings Attached?" British Medical Journal 331.7531 (2005): 1527-529. BMJ. 24 Dec. 2005. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. .
Weijer, Charles. "Should Physicians Accept Gifts from Their Patients? Yes" Western Journal of Medicine 175.2 (2001): 77. PubMed. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. .
Siegler, M., and W. Winslade. "Ethics in Medicine." Clinical Ethics. By A. R. Jonsen. 7th ed. N.p.:
Medical ethics in general is not a modern term; it goes back in time to the 12th century to the Hippocratic Oath. Recently in the 21st century the interest in medical ethics was provoked by a series of medical scandals: Nazi medical experiments, the infamous Tuskegee syphilis studies and so on. After which autonomy in the form of an informed consent was obligatory for minor and major procedures. (2, 3)
Money- There is no such thing as a free meal. That being said, regardless if the doctors were reimbursed, they still had travel expenses.
Physicians should always know their boundaries when it comes to patients. The Committee on Physician Health and Rehabilitation wrote that “Social contacts with patients may blur the professional boundary.” I can see where this can be a problem in the office. For example, if a patient buys their physician an expensive gift it is highly recommended that the physician should decline such gifts. Because one thing could lead to another and whereas the physician might’ve thought that the patient was just trying to be nice. The patient could be thinking something totally different thing. In the medical field it is always said that physicians should never be over familiarity with patients, “familiarity” meaning; considerable acquaintance with or established friendship; intimacy. Maryland Board of Physicians wrote that “For a physician, sexual misconduct includes erotic behavior such as kissing, nudity, and sexual proposition or comment.” Any type of intimacy goes against the relationship between a patient and his or her physician being platonic. With boundary violations everyone lose...
At the most fundamental level, in a good physician-patient relationship, the physician typically trusts the patient as a moral agent. Just as a trusting patient assumes good will on the part of the physician, so a physician entering into or engaging in a therapeutic relationship with a patient must also assume good will. This means, of course, not fearing physical harm, libelous reputational damage, or spiteful legal recourse, but more generally, it requires assuming that one is not being manipulated, used, or set up by a patient bent on securing some ill-gotten or undeserved
In this diverse society we are confronted everyday with so many ethical choices in provision of healthcare for individuals. It becomes very difficult to find a guideline that would include a border perspective which might include individual’s beliefs and preference across the world. Due to these controversies, the four principles in biomedical ethic which includes autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice help us understand and explain which medical practices are ethical and acceptable. These principles are not only used to protect the rights of a patient but also the physician from being violated.
People all over the world enter health care facilities and hope to be taken care of in an effective, sufficient and safe manner. Patients want to know that their health care provides care for their well being and want what is best for them. They wish to be cared for in a way that demonstrates that they are the most important person in the room. Sometimes not all patients get the kind of care that they expect and most importantly deserve. I am happy to say that the patient I interviewed (patient C) had a pleasant experience during their time at their health care facility. I am sharing this story because people should know that there are medical personnel that care for patients the way Patient C’s health care team cared for her. Patient C’s trip
9) Wall, L.L. (2006). The medical ethics of Dr J Marion Sims: a fresh look at the historical record. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(6), 346-350. doi: 10.1136/jme.2005.012559
that the all healthcare staff give. They did not only care for the patient but also calmed the others that were around; because of this I have been inspired to follow the medical career path.
3. Honor: doctors ought to act decently. They ought to approach their patients with deference, and ought not enter into questionable relations with them; and
The ethical issue presented is the physician sharing personal views of “non-traditional” treatments with others while patients are near. There are three healthcare concepts that are supported by ethical theories: autonomy, nonmaleficence, and beneficence.
McGee, Glenn and Arthur L. Caplan. "Medical Ethics." Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997: Microsoft Corporation. CD-ROM.
Some unethical practice may occur during treatment in the doctor-patient relationship. If I value honesty, I would charge my patients accurately. If I value service to others, I will do charity work to help those who cannot afford dental work. If I value kindness, I will treat all of my patients with the dedication and care that I show towards my parents and other individuals I love. As a future health professional I am responsible for showing care as well as valuing the patient and my interaction with them. I am not to act selfish or greedy or act in a way where I think about my power. I must think of others and show dignity and respect. It is my goal that I will continue to be a student and person with ethics and
Hospitals and physicians started to see people’s illnesses as a “payday”. Instead of healing patients, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals created unnecessary means to objectify patients into receiving continual treatment, whether they necessarily need the specific treatment or not. As patients, we see doctors as honest and fair valuing their advice unsuspecting that they are overpricing, and/or over treating us for a pay increase. In the book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back (2017) author Elisabeth Rosenthal shared a thought-provoking statement addressing that, “Many Patients can’t shake the idea that the one-on-one relationships with doctors that once earned the profession our respect and allegiance may no longer be medicine’s driving force” (eg. 204). As patients when doctors recommend a procedure, drug, or treatment we tend to not give it a second thought. Primarily because as patients we cannot fathom the idea that the doctors we have grown to love may not have our best interest as their first
Throughout the last two quarters of Health: A Biopsychosocial Inquiry we have been discussing a lot about the doctor/ patient relationship. What does it look like? How should a doctor treat his or her patient and the patient’s responsibility to their own health care? We have read about parents and what they should or shouldn’t’ do where their child is concerned. We have tackled the issue of the quality of care you receive depending on how much money you have. We have learned about diseases or health care issues and how to take care of the body better, to avoid certain diseases. What can we take from all of what we have learn to help our family and friends with their own doctor/patient relationships?