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Ethics of healthcare
Patient safety in the hospital setting
Ethics of healthcare
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Ethics of healthcare
Patient safety in the hospital setting
Ethics of healthcare
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recent profit driven health care systems are influencing doctors to lessen care in order to cut expenses. If a doctor prescribes a lethal medication to a patient it is cheaper rather than having the patient take medication for long term conditions and serious illness
Other times were not even giving their patients a proper diagnosis. The
Although the US is technologically advanced and has some of the highest caliber medical professionals in the world, compared to many other industrialized countries, it has one of the lowest outcomes in regards to quality of care. Moreover, it has some of the highest overall medical costs (Panning, 2014). In the US, low quality care and high costs have resulted in fragmentation of the healthcare delivery system. Fragmentation of services often results in patient experiences that are poor, with less than desired
In each of the three essays, “The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss, “Gray Area: Thinking with a Damaged Brain” by Floyd Skloot and “Notes from a Difficult Case” by Ruthann Robson, each of the main characters in the stories deals with a severe medical condition and their experiences that coincide with their disease. Each of these essays all have certain characteristics that are similar, but are still very different in their own way. In “The Pain Scale”, Biss discusses the idea of pain along with the concept of zero. She talks about her experiences of going to the doctor’s office and being asked her level of pain.
As mentioned, physician- assisted suicide is a debate that has been discussed for decades. A newspaper article written by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Four Myths About Doctor-Assisted Suicide, provides information about the arguments that have been debated decades ago. Emanuel informs the reader both the arguments and the realistic statics since 2012. The first myth is concerning of the pain patients endure, Emanuel quotes the main argument advocates gave, “Most patients want to die are suffering from depression, and not pain”(1). Emanuel claims the statement to be false, due to statics done in 2012.
’s turn to die. I don’t believe that we should have the power to decide one’s fate. An important part to recognize that is not talked a lot about in this topic is that if euthanasia and assisted suicide is illegal, then doctors won’t have the pressure and burden of having to take someone’s life, even if the person wanted it. These people are educated to be doctors, not killers. They are meant to use everything in their power to save patients, not take away their life.
In the documentary, Bill Moyers talks to three terminally ill patients, their families, and their doctors about the concerns with physician-assisted suicide (PAS). PAS allows a terminally ill patient to hasten an inevitable and unavoidable death through a lethal dose. The patients considered PAS in order to end their prolonged suffering. The legal role of advance directives in end of life issues allows a patient to specify how he wishes to be treated by a healthcare provider during a progressively weakened state. Advance directives may provide patients with freedom to choose end of life treatment, but moral and religious implications, the ethical battle between a physician’s duty to care and inner-conscious, and state laws pose threats to PAS.
They must ensure that they are providing adequate services to patients and at the same time ensuring that insurance companies are getting paid (Saint Joseph’s University, 2011, Para 6). Along with that they must secure that they are getting paid. Furthermore, physician moral and ethics are challenged as well; Thus, causing them to rethink how they take on their responsibilities as a medical care provider by trying to keep patients best interest, insurance companies interest and their own interests. This conflict with trying to meet the needs of several different stakeholders causes strain on the physician because they must walk fine line to please each. While trying to please a specific stakeholder another holder could be compromised.
The debate over whether or not physician-assisted suicide should be a legal option for dying patients has long been a topic for discussion amongst members of the medical community. There are pros and cons for each argument, however, at the center of this debate is the consideration of patient advocacy and well-being. Although every health care profession centers their profession around providing the best ethical care for the patient, the most important value to consider are the decisions the patient makes for themselves. Currently, patients are given many safeguards such as living wills, a durable power of attorney, and the option for do not resuscitate that act as guidelines for end of life treatment. Physician-assisted suicide
There are some people that say since the physician to patient ratio is so skewed towards patients, this makes it more difficult for patients to get timely and cost effective healthcare. Despite
There sometimes is a point that a human reaches in degeneration that modern medicines cannot aide or remedy. As described by Lewis Cohen, “Medication such as morphine can help the terminally ill manage pain, but it can’t ameliorate their agony at no longer being the same people that they were before the illness” (Cohen). The unbearable pain and loss of normalcy that accompanies those with terminal illnesses is what pushes them to consider assisted suicide. The mentality is seen simply as “if one is going to die anyway, then why not choose how and when.” Unfortunately, the choice of death for those with incurable circumstances has been twisted into other views and is being misinterpreted as a way for doctors to mercy kill their patients.
Concerning the cases with Wagner and Bauer, insurance companies will stray away from doing any acts that seem unethical when pertaining to “life or death” medication due to the backlash that Bauer’s and Wagner’s insurance company after their case went public. Additionally, no insurance company wants to be painted badly in the news; they are selling you protection from whatever may occur in the future. They cannot sell themselves as a credible company if they subtly urge you to choose the cheapest route, which can also mean the deadly route. Besides insurance companies being one of the main issues concerning physician-assisted suicide, the hospital itself can prove to be an issue. Since so many deaths occur due to medical errors, one has to wonder how many terminally-ill patients were misdiagnosed.
What would you do if doctors were not nearly as experienced
While the doctors in Italy are fighting for a better system, America is experiencing a shortage of doctors and nurses (“13.4 Problems of Healthcare in the United States” np). This is a major problem because physicians are needed to help the patients and if there are not enough physicians, then who will care for the patients in dire need of medical help? One of the main factors contributing to a shortage of doctors and nurses is that emergency rooms, where the majority of patients come to for help, are understaffed (“13.4 Problems of Healthcare in the United States” np). The reason behind this lack of medical professionals is due to the fact that they too are being underpaid which leads them to not want to volunteer for difficult work when they are not receiving enough pay (“13.4 Problems of Healthcare in the United States” np). If America was to begin paying doctors more than maybe more would volunteer to help out in emergency rooms, which unquestionably require an immense amount of medical professionals to treat emergent illnesses.
The Right to Die has been taking effect in many states and is rapidly spreading around the world. Patients who have life threatening conditions usually choose to die quickly with the help of their physicians. Many people question this right because of its inhumane authority. Euthanasia or assisted suicide are done by physicians to end the lives of their patients only in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, New Mexico and soon California that have the Right to Die so that patients don’t have to live with depression, cancer and immobility would rather die quick in peace.