Age rationing in health care
“As the ranks of the elderly swell, and demands on the nation's scarce health care resources increase, the once whispered suggestions that health care should be rationed by age are now growing audible” (Andre & Velasquez, 2015).
Provision 2:The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, community, or population.
According to Winland-Brown, Lachman, and Swanson, Provision 2 focuses on the nurse’s obligation to keep the patients interest in mind regardless of potential conflicts between other health care workers or family members.
The client is the priority and they should always have a good understanding of their care and prognosis during their hospital stay. They should also be included in any decisions regarding their own care. If client
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A nurse has the obligation to be a client’s advocate, while also protecting the patient’s rights, health and safety. If age were a determining factor of whether or not a patient should not receive care then a nurse would not be protecting the rights of the patient nor promoting safety or health of the patient.
“Justice, they argue, requires that people be treated similarly unless there are morally relevant reasons for treating them differently” (Andre & Velasquez, 2015).
It is relevant to consider ones need for health care, their willingness to comply with care provided, the advantages/disadvantages of the care provided, or overall outcome however, it is not relevant to consider ones age nor gender or sexuality (Andre & Velasquez, 2015). According to Andre & Velasquez (2015), “If our aim is to use costly resources more effectively, then we ought to deny treatment to all patients whose prognosis indicates a short life span, chronic illness, or little likely improvement in the quality of life, rather than denying treatment simply on the basis of