Health Care Provider Ethics

One of the major areas of strength of the AMA Code of Ethics is the principle that outlines that the physician must “regard responsibility to the patient as paramount” (American Medical Association, n.d., par. 9). This principle outlines that importance of putting the patient first in all care aspects when working with a patient. Along with this, other principles set forth in the AMA Code of Ethics, while involving other aspects of care, state that the rights of the patient shall be acknowledged and followed during patient care. It is very important that healthcare codes of ethics are clear in defining that the patient needs to be considered first and foremost.

Patients seek care and treatment in hopes of receiving confidential, unbiased, honest, and respectful treatment. They also expect that care providers maintain their personal values and beliefs related to their care. As healthcare

Ethics plays a major part in healthcare, it's used to make decisions based on what is believed to be right. Things such as a patient's care, treatment plans, and any other important information should all be communicated with the patient through the physician so that the patient has a clear understanding of their care plan. The patient should also know all of their information about their health so that they can make an informed decision on how to proceed with care or lack thereof. When a step is done incorrectly or isn’t considered to be acceptable, or when a doctor goes against their role as a physician, then it might be seen as an ethical and moral dilemma. Ethics seeks the balance between patient rights and needs.

The term “medical ethics” is defined by The American Medical Association as “(1) moral principles or practices and (2) matters of social policy involving issues of morality in the practice of medicine.” The nine principles of medical ethics as outlined by the AMA tell how a physician should conduct themselves in the profession, the third and fourth of which states “(3) A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient. (4) A physician shall respect the rights of patients, colleagues, and other health professionals, and shall safeguard patient confidences and privacy within the constraints of the

These ethical issues mostly rise as a result of various concerns such as a patient’s care experience, the compliance of staff members to practice laws and policies, and family members’

Well Care Hospital professional’s duty is to be committed to the care of all patients and make improvements within the life of the patient. According to the National Ethics Committee of the Veterans Health Administration (2003), “Professionals are required to make a fiduciary commitment to place their clients’ interests ahead of their own. Patients should be able to trust that their interests and welfare will be place above those of the health care profession” (p.2)

Even though everyone seemed to agree and felt the same way about the situation, it was difficult to rationalize or logically defend what we felt was the right thing to do, which would involve breaking patient confidentiality. Some of the principles that we thought could be used to defend our position were beneficence, non-maleficence, and utilitarianism. Going back to the Dr. Pellegrino’s article, the population-based ethics, in which the physician takes the role of a social servant for the good of the society, could also be used to defend our position. This discussion served as a motivation to not just learn the ethical principles, but also to become more knowledgeable in how to apply the ethical principles to different situations. It also encouraged me to develop the virtue of prudence in order to be prepared for the tricky situations that may arise in clinical

According to Yoder-Wise (2014), “The Code of Ethics for Nurses (ANA 2001) should be the starting point for any nurse faced with an ethical issue” (p. 93). It is very important for health care providers to maintain an awareness of any potential ethical problems that may arise. In order to do this, the health care provider must have a strong awareness of their own individual ethical principles and practices. However, even as healthcare providers are tasked with looking within themselves to find the strength and means to support their patients, it is imperative that they try to maintain a balance between patient autonomy and their own feelings. The health care providers must focus on their belief in beneficence and nonmaleficence in regards to their patients.

Sometimes, patient requests are unknown. In this case doctors may draw their own list of ethics incorporating a complementary framework within which their decision is wrought. While the precedent details fail, the inspiring ethic decision would be the fitting solution relying on best-interest consideration.

Health care professionals are also required to uphold a standard of ethics and act with a sense of nonmaleficence.

The moral code of ethics as healthcare professionals is we have a responsibility and a moral code to our patients and the others we serve and they are: “Work to ensure the existence of a process to evaluate the quality of care or service rendered; to avoid practicing or facilitating discrimination and institute safeguards to prevent discriminatory organizational practices; work to ensure the existence of a process that will advise patients or others served of the rights, opportunities, responsibilities and risks regarding available healthcare services; work to ensure that there is a process in place to facilitate the resolution of conflicts that may arise when values of patients and their families differ from those of employees and physicians; demonstrate zero tolerance for any abuse of power that compromises patients or others served; work to provide a process that ensures the autonomy and self-determination of patients or others served; work to ensure the existence of procedures that will safeguard the confidentiality and privacy of patients or others served; and work to ensure the existence of an ongoing process and procedures to review, develop and consistently implement evidence-based clinical practices throughout the organization.” (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2015)

Healthcare professionals will be faced with ethical dilemmas throughout their career, particularly in the hospital environment. Having an education regarding professional healthcare ethics will provide some direction in how to best address these dilemmas at a time when either the patient or their family is in need of making decisions for themselves or their family member. It can be difficult for healthcare professionals to weigh professional protocol against their own personal beliefs and ethical understandings when determining critical care for their patient.

In today’s ever-evolving health care system, there are multiple dilemmas that arise on a daily basis. When considering these dilemmas, a solution is imperative for the physician or physician assistant. In these cases, the importance of the physician’s code of ethics also comes into importance when establishing a sense of the ethics involved. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that seeks to understand the nature, purposes, justification, and founding principles of moral rules and the systems they comprise. Ethics is essential in dealing with the values relating to human conduct and also focuses on the rightness and wrongness of actions, as well as the goodness and badness of the motives and ends (Pozgar, 2016). In terms of the physician and physician assistant, their ethical codes align to make the care given by each professional fair to each individual patient. The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) provide central guidelines to be used on a case by case basis for these medical dilemmas. However, some healthcare dilemmas are much more complicated than others and it is at the discretion of the medical professional to provide an ethical solution to these cases.

The health care profession like other profession is a calling, ranging from teaching, law, public accountant, architecture, to engineer, these are professions that are expected to put the interest of the student, patient, or client first. Placing them first above all of a practitioners on personal interest (Lisa Cosgrove, 2013). To ensure that the professional guides his/herself to this end requires a code of ethics, standards, and rules that keep them on course. We know that physicians take a Hippocratic Oath, Code of Ethics for Nurses, and in the practice of law, teaching, engineering, public accountant, standards are under a licensing processes that are agreed upon to follow specific codes of ethics that embody the same concepts.

When I look through the material and read about the Doctor’s Code of Ethics, I believe that the entire code of ethics needs to be enforced. Doctors are individuals that help heal and help keep the community and their patients healthy. These are individuals that the patients and the community confide in and look to for medical advice when needing additional help. The doctor’s code of ethics are guidelines that help protect the doctor and the patient while at the same time striving to improve the patient care and the health care system. The code of ethics is feasible to enforce because these are basic and realistic principles and goals that need to be upheld for the doctor and the patient. I believe that when these ethics are practiced then the doctor is able to taken more seriously while building a good reputation within the community and among patients.