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Ethics in the Healthcare In today’s field of healthcare there are many ethical issues and dilemmas in the medical profession. While working in a military Medical Treatment Facility (MET) I’ve noticed that some of these problems have been around for quite some time now. In my report will identify the issues and dilemmas I’ve seen while working in the MET. Also, will address two dilemmas that I feel are huge issues. Last, will explain how these certain dilemmas have change the way we work in the MET F and shaped medical ethical principles over time.
The first dilemma have chosen to address is the unsafe provider to patient ratio in which can be unethical in certain clinic settings. This particular issue is a very common ethical dilemma amongst the military provider community, whether the provider staff if from a large hospital setting or from a smaller MET. In the MET when the provider ratio is low in comparison to a higher patient ratio the Odds of insufficient care is increased while the patient’s safety is decreased or otherwise compromised. Furthermore, some patients eave to seek off base providers because the MET can’t provide care.
Inappropriate staffing of providers is one of the number one concerns amongst Mats all over and when not appropriately staffed the risk of terrible healthcare is unfortunately increased. According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (COACH) hospitals/clinics are required to have a code of ethics and have clear standards both on patient rights and organizational ethics. Several ethical principles may be in jeopardy when caring for patients if the staffing of providers is low.
Understaffed providers within the MET F setting may have an influence on beneficiaries; although providers may want to do what’s best for their patients, they may be limited or too overwhelmed to get to every patient or to meet the best interests of each patient under their supervision. They may be forced to treat the patient with the highest medical need or triage their condition. This unethical principle may lead to unfair distributed justice and distribution of medical care would be limited if the providers were spread too thin to be able o deliver a fair amount of care to each of their patients. Http:// search. Prosiest. Com. Explore. Trident. Due:2048/deceive/198098086) The Department of Health and Human Services (HAS) reported that for at least a decade, the united States has experienced worsening workforce shortages in medical professions. Most areas in the Nation face shortages of critical healthcare workers, including primary care physicians, nurses, behavioral health and long-term care workers, as well as public health and human service professionals. Moreover, this problem is anticipated to increase in the owing years.
More than 64 million people currently live in a primary-care health professional shortage area, and others live in smaller areas with health professional shortages. More than half of the counties in the United States have no behavioral health worker at all. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the resulting expansion of health insurance coverage, demand for services Of primary care professionals will increase substantially. (http://www. Has. Gob/secretary/about/goals. HTML) The workforce issues resulting from a shortage in providers is being dressed by HRS.
Through execution of the Affordable Care Act, programs of fund scholarships and loans will be implemented to increase the number of primary care physicians, nurses, physician assistants, mental health providers, and dentists in the medical areas of need. This method should enable more providers to be installed not only into the civilian sectors, but also create careers for providers in the military. With the success of this program better healthcare shall increase all over. The second dilemma have chosen to address is inappropriate tasking.
One example of inappropriate asking would be to have new providers placed in a setting where they are unfamiliar for instance in an emergency room setting. When a new provider is placed in an unfamiliar setting the consequential the provider may lack the experience to address certain issues in that area. Another example of inappropriate tasking would be when a provider becomes over tasked and they start to inappropriately delegate their duties to medical technicians whose developmental ethics have not yet matured to the level of the provider.
Although in this latest situation the delegating provider may believe e/she is morally just the principle ethics of it all would not be beneficial to the patient and an injustice of patient care can result in a malpractice. The providers need to be trained in these areas before being thrown into certain positions. There are differences in the training requirements, goals, and objectives of varied medical services that can reduce the flexibility and knowledge of the medical provider workforce and its ability to serve in different settings. As a result, a need exists for greater standardization in curricula and more clearly defined objectives.
HAS is working with state, local, and tribal governments to develop health workforce training, recruitment, and retention strategies and to expand critical, timely access to care by funding the expansion, construction, and operation of Health Centers throughout the United States. (http://www. Has. Gob/secretary/about/ cocoa. HTML) In conclusion, the two medical service issues I believe to be critical to healthcare are very similar and go hand in hand. In the presence of a struggling clinical staff, an overwhelmed provider may feel the need to legate his/hers duty to other personnel.
If the delegated duties are given to a less qualified individual in good intentions the delegating individual may believe that the ethical realism has been met due to having to choose an option of delegation to serve the common good for all of their tasks. Although this is not a good medical ethics one’s standards may think this is acceptable. However, when acts are passed by federal legislation and more funding for medical scholarships will best serve the interest of all medical organizations involved in long term projections. Reference: A.