Overall, medical practice is performed when physicians identify health concerns, including diseases, mental disorders, and physical injuries, and provide a treatment for their patients in order to properly cure them of their maladies. The appropriate basis for medical practice is a combination of physicians’ knowledge acquired from scientific research and education, and ethical considerations regarding the wellbeing of patients. Additionally, if no scientific support is available, patients must rely on intuition and experience in order to make a proper diagnosis.
On the whole, science plays a major role in the realm of medicine, as it is the foundation for the creation of new treatments and education. Science is defined as “…research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements, achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as supplying the foundation for its further practice” (Kuhn 70). The aspect of scientific research is important because as more diseases and medical conditions become recognized, scientists need to discover possible cures and develop medicine in order for physicians to treat their patients. For example, in A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness, neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran recounts how patients with “reflex sympathetic dystrophy”, also known as RSD, were research subjects in a scientific experiment to discover if there was a way to cure their unremitting pain (17). As a result of this experiment, a new and effective treatment for those in chronic pain was determined once it was discovered that the patients’ pain went away completely and mobility returned to limbs when mirrors were utilized (18). Through science, the answer to how physicians may prescribe a trea...
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...per medical treatment. V.S. Ramachandran states that “randomized, controlled trial research do not make clinical decisions for physicians; rather, they must be applied to individual patients and clinical situations based on value judgments, both by physicians and patients. Clinical decision-making must entail value judgments about the costs and benefits of available treatments” (91). A patient can practice medicine by deciding whether a certain treatment option is right for him or her. For example, an individual might choose to take medication instead of having surgery because of monetary costs, or decide which prescription drug to take based on the potential side effects. Overall, though a physician may advise an individual on a certain treatment to cure him or her of a medical concern, it is ultimately the patients’ decision on whether or not to carry it out.
medical practices are beneficial; they are done to cure people from illness and to save
To find answers, physicians must use ethical philosophies and principles to determine the problems and benefits of any course of action.
Providers must act in the best interest of the patient and their basic obligation is to do no harm and work for the public’s wellbeing. A physician shall always keep in mind the obligation of preserving human life. Providers must communicate full, accurate and unbiased information so patients can make informed decisions about their health care. As a result of their recommendations, providers are responsible for generating costs in health care but do not generate the need for those expenses. Every hospital has both an ethical as well as a legal responsibility to provide care, even if the care may be uncompensated.
With the high degree of variations in health care, patients can be under or over treated or even treated with the wrong treatment for their illness. These unwarranted care techniques can be categorized into three different situations. The first category of unwarranted care is the use of evidence or lack thereof, based on other medical care. The way to explain this category is that a care plan for a patient is proven effective without any proof as to why. The example given by Kongstvedt (2007) is the use of beta blockers post heart attack. Beta blockers prove to be effective in nearly one h...
According to Sackett, (1996) evidence–based medicine is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care. Straus, Richardson, Glasziou, & Haynes (2005, p. 1) described evidence-based practice (EBP) as “the integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and unique patient values and circumstances.” According to Straus et al, (2005, p.3) those practicing evidence based medicine must follow five specific steps: a) Include the need for data into an answerable question, b) Track down the best evidence, c) Critically appraise the evidence for validity, impact, and application, d) Integrate the critical appraisal into clinical practice, and e) Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing steps a-e-and seek ways to improve them. Subsequently, without current best evidence, clinical practice cam become out-dated to the detriment of patients, this is an untenable circumstance and one which should never be allowed to happen.
Ethics in the medical field are very important and should be taken seriously. As a medical professional you will tested daily on making the best choices, using good judgment and being morally responsible for your actions. There are nine principles in the Code of Medical Ethics that in general make up the primary code. As a medical professional you must always consider what is in the best interest of the patient. Code of medical ethics of the American Medical Association, (2012). When determining the proper “Patient-Physician Relationship, the relationship between the patient and physician is based on trust and gives rise to the physicians’ ethical obligations to place a patients’ welfare above their own self-interest” Code of medical ethics of the American Medical Association, (2012).
In conclusion, every patient is worried about their rights to care but not so much are focused on the rights of the physicians providing the care. It is hard to establish a respectable practice if you are required to perform care for instances in which you object or do not want to be a part of. This detracts from the ethical background of practice and procedure every physician should hold to the highest standard.
In the medical field, there are many ethical dilemmas that a person could face. One of the major dilemmas in the medical field comes from being a doctor. While attending to a patient/ client the doctor may not know the best treatment or course of action to take because of the many options there could be. The values and beliefs of a doctor can’t interfere with the treatment of a patient/client. Their job is to be honest, benevolent, respectful, and to maintain confidentiality of the patient/client.
... in clinical trials. This decision will benefit pharmaceutical companies and CROs since it allows them to use placebo control even when a standard treatment is available [10 & 11].
... a health problem, incorrect supervision of medication to a patient, faulty or sub-standard performance of a diagnosis, surgery, or any other type of procedure, inadequate use of medical tools and instruments and devices and their lack of maintenance, and negligence towards patient records, test results, or any other kind of documentation (Goguen). Although, the list of problems and causes of medical malpractice seems rather endless and long, it can be cut short. Some ways to prevent and avoid malpractice or medical error is to be aware and involved. A doctor can take note of their patient and their medical history. A patient can be aware of their surroundings and the treatment that they are receiving. A patient’s safety should be a doctor’s primary concern, because it is their responsibility to tend to patients needs and to assist them to a proper nourished life.
Health care is “the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical and allied health professions” (Farlex Inc.). Health practices and services by health professionals must provide the best attention and safety measures when regarding patients. Patients go in with the thought that the medical staff will provide the best care possible and healthcare professional have a duty to do so. However, a major issue in the healthcare field for many years has been medical malpractice. The word malpractice derives from the Latin phrase "mala praxis" that was created by Sir William Blackstone during 1765 in his “Commentaries on the Laws of England” (Murphy). The first medical malpractice lawsuit in the United States happened in the year 1794, five years following George Washington inauguration (Murphy). Moreover, in the laws of ancient Rome and England, every person who entered into a learned profession assumed to bring to the exercise of a rational degree of care and skill. Nonetheless, there are often times when physicians deter from the rational degree of care and skill, causing malpractice. In the United States, medical malpractice suits first appeared during the 1800s. However, before the 1960s, legal accusations for medical malpractice were uncommon and had little impact. Since then medical malpractice claims have increased and are now very common, which is a major matter of question. Once the patient files a lawsuit, the defendant must deal with the legalities resulting from their deviation of duty. “A sum of 225,000 Americans die each year from all forms of medical malpractice put together and only 2% o...
Macklin R. (2003). Applying the Four Principles, Journal of Medical Ethics; 29: p.275-280 doi:10.1136/jme.29.5.275.retrieved from http:// jme.bmj.com/content/29/5/275.full
Professionalism is an adherence to a set of values comprising both a formally agreed-upon code of conduct and the informal expectations of colleagues, clients and society. The key values include acting in a patient's interest, responsiveness to the health needs of society, maintaining the highest standards of excellence in the practice of medicine and in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. In addition to medical knowledge and skills, medical professionals should present psychosocial and humanistic qualities such as caring, empathy, humility and compassion, as well as social responsibility and sensitivity to people's culture and beliefs. All these qualities are expected of members of highly trained professions.
Informed consent is a very serious decision a patient has to make when it comes to their health and consenting to procedures that are believed to cure or treat their current health status. It is important to address the effectiveness of the role a physician play in the informed consent process assuring that the patient has given truly informed consent and what safeguards can be put in place to assure the patient is exercising informed consent. Informed consent is based on the fact that the person consenting is a rational individual that is aware of the action to which he/she is consenting. Allen and McNamara (2011) notes that "On the standard understanding, the important elements of informed consent are the provision of information, the voluntariness of the choice and the competence of the chooser to make the choice— so the potential research participant should be provided with information relevant to the decision to participate, they should be able to choose freely about their participation and they should be competent to decide.
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been described as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decision about the care of individual patients” . Evidence-Based Practice is a thoughtful integration of the best available evidence, coupled with clinical expertise. It enables one to address healthcare questions with an evaluative and qualitative approach. It is about applying the best available research evidence in provision of health, behavior and education services to enhance outcomes. Evidence-Based practice is about performing the best possible practice in order to provide the best possible care .