Ethical Issues in Healthcare

Ethical Issues in Healthcare

Ethical issues in healthcare are medical views found in a section of applied ethics that involve decision-making principles that the medical attendants must follow when making decisions in a healthcare setting. Ethical issues in healthcare are relative depending on cultures and countries.

Ethical standards are important in healthcare facilities, and healthcare managers are responsible for establishing and implementing them. Every healthcare institution must follow the set standards regarding the institution’s operation and patient treatment.

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Top Ethical Issues in Healthcare  

Ethical issues revolve around patients’ confidentiality, equity in access to care, safety, informed consent, patients’ rights, conflict of interest, etc.

Here are the top ethical issues in health care. 

Confidentiality  

Doctor and patient connections are very crucial. Discussions between them are strictly confidential. That also applies to the patient’s medical information and condition. Confidentiality helps to build trust between the two parties. The ability of a patient to freely share their situation, opinions, and thoughts with the doctor allows the team to work together to find the treatment.

An ethical problem arises when the doctor shares the patient’s information and medical records with other unauthorized personnel. Failing to share full details of the diagnosis and treatment plan is also one of the ethical issues in healthcare regarding confidentiality.

Equity in access to care

Every patient has a right to access healthcare resources without discrimination based on social class, culture, race, gender orientation, sex, or economic class. Every individual should be able to access care with or without medical coverage. 

The cost of medical services has become one of the most common ethical issues in healthcare nursing. Patients, especially low-income earners, find healthcare services a bit costly. Facilities, especially in the private sector, have put high prices on medical services. Accessing public facilities has become a challenge also due to inadequate resources and overcrowding.

The influx of patients in the facilities forces healthcare providers to work long hours without rest. Sometimes patients go home without treatment because of the lack of medical coverage. Denying patient’s healthcare services is an ethical problem. Inadequate resources can lead to negligence and malpractice.

Informed consent   

The patient has the right to fully understand and agree to any medical diagnosis or procedure they undergo before it proceeds. Informed consent is a detailed comprehension of the advantages of treatment and the risk exposure.

Before the treatment, the nurse should educate the patient about their medical situation, diagnosis plan, the level of infection, the risk factors, and the benefits of undertaking the treatment, after explaining that in the patient’s most preferred mode of communication, give the patient space and time to process all that and decide.

Failure to communicate and educate patients about their illnesses is considered an ethical issue in healthcare. Interfering with patient decisions and failing to present a consent form for signing is also considered an ethical issue.

Physician-assisted Suicide  

Patient Assisted Suicide refers to relaying medication to a competent and terminally ill patient to help them end their life. In this case, the doctor may give a patient who has requested a strong sedative that they can administer to themself when ready to die.

Physician-assisted Suicide is different from Euthanasia. Euthanasia refers to willingly ending a person’s life to relieve suffering. That can be through overdose with the aim of killing. Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide are both legal and ethical issues in healthcare. They go against the principle of beneficence even though the patient may request death. 

Malpractice and Negligence 

Malpractice is medical faults identified frequently resulting from one or more unjustifiable mistakes. Negligence is possessing enough knowledge and failing to use it concerning being keen and cautious, causing harm to the patient. 

Negligence and malpractice are ethical issues in healthcare that can easily lead to fatal health problems. The busy schedules in a healthcare environment can lead to negligence in misdiagnosis or delayed treatment, which can lead to death or worsen the patient’s medical situation.

Principles of Ethics in Healthcare 

One of the advantages of the principles of ethics in healthcare is that they assist the care providers in learning how to identify an ethical issue and find solutions for ethical issues and dilemmas they face at work. That can be done by having conversations with the patients to understand their opinions, experiences, and needs.

There are four main principles of ethics in healthcare. They include:

Autonomy 

The principal autonomy helps to ensure that the patient is actively involved in making decisions concerning their treatment, care, and support. Ethical dilemmas in autonomy arise when healthcare providers or the family of the patient influence or make decisions on behalf of the competent patient without their permission. 

The principle of autonomy does not apply to minors, physically or mentally challenged persons, or people imprisoned. This principle requires the care providers to inform their patients about their medical conditions and treatment options, explain the level of riskiness, and any other information related to the patient’s illness. After that, grant the patient space and time to determine their preference. 

Beneficence 

Beneficence is a principle in healthcare that requires healthcare providers to bring a positive impact on patients. Acts such as kindness, genericity, and mercy can help to bring healing and prevent or eliminate bad health conditions such as depression. 

The care providers can exercise this principle by seeking to learn more about the patient’s desires and needs and working towards meeting them when providing healthcare. 

Justice 

This principle states that all patients should receive equitable, fair, and appropriate treatment. The distribution of resources should be based on patient contributions, needs, and merits. Ethical issues occur when healthcare providers delay or fail to provide services to patients because they are from specific ethnic backgrounds, races, economic statuses, or gender orientations. 

Nonmaleficence  

The Nonmaleficence principle states that the care provider should not harm or cause any suffering to the patient. Nonmaleficence agrees with moral standards such as not manslaughter, incapacitating, causing pain, offending, or denying the patient the joy of living. 

In most cases, nonmaleficence is applied when care providers must weigh the known risks and benefits of interventions and treatment plans.

Ethical issues in healthcare arise when physicians breach this principle and opt for procedures that end the patient’s life and cause suffering or pain when there are other options. For example, in a scenario where the patient has undergone an intense surgery, the doctor fails to use pain relievers to relieve pain after the operation. 

A legal and ethical dilemma arises during an end-of-life situation where the physician is forced to choose between withholding life-supporting machines or withdrawing them.  

Ethical and Legal issues in healthcare 

The healthcare system is evolving as time passes, and legal and ethical standards for caregivers, patients, families, and executives are constantly changing. Individuals and societies have different views on some medical practices, diagnoses, treatment plans, and management, among other healthcare issues.

Policies, laws, regulations, and ethical standards are set to define the responsibilities of medical practitioners among other healthcare staff. They are also set to safeguard the rights and needs of the patients when receiving care in a healthcare facility.

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What are the Differences between Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare? 

Ethical standards are based on human principles of right or wrong. They do not have to be necessarily formed on legal grounds. The State implements the legal rules and standards to ensure patients understand their medical rights. Legal standards are regulated, hence breaking them can lead to imprisonment and other government punishments, unlike ethical standards.

Here are some of the illustrations of legal issues in healthcare include; 

Healthcare system tort reform and malpractice 

The tort reforms are set to help decrease worldwide malpractice and negligent risks. The government puts them in place to also reduce the general cost and expenditure related to healthcare service providers.  

False claims and whistle-blower suits  

These suits help to detect abuse and theft by dishonest healthcare staff, physicians, and suppliers of medical staff, among other healthcare stakeholders. The main aim of putting these suits in the healthcare system is to ensure that the government is protected from healthcare fraud. Fight against it to recover money that is paid due to fraudulent claims.   

Antitrust issues and ACOs  

Accountable Care Organizations consist of groups of doctors, healthcare providers, organizations, and hospitals who join to provide affordable and efficient healthcare services to patients. They achieve this by offering high-quality medical services and reducing medical burgage on patients.

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