ethical and legal issues in healthcare

Here’s One Approach.”, U.S. News & World Report, “Why Will It Take So Long for a COVID-19 Vaccine?”, World Health Organization, Ethical Issues in Global Health, December 10, 2020  |  A patient persists in telling sexist jokes, which offends nursing home staff. However, some see a future where robots care for the sick and elderly and robotic enhancements provide patients with superhuman capabilities — applications with more problematic implications. The patient asks the X-ray technician if her doctor is disclosing everything he knows about her test results. AHU Online is an investment in your future self and career. The first digital pill to be approved in the United States was a form of the antipsychotic medication aripiprazole (sold under the trade name Abilify) in 2017. Malpractice and medical lawsuits can be devastating to any medical practice. . At the same time, it has highlighted ethical issues that arise in vector-borne diseases more generally. Elite care … A medical coder accidentally put sensitive medical records in a hallway trash bin, instead of in the shredder. As a health administrator, you may be asked to work with staff to resolve complaints before these issues escalate to the point of legal action and to help ensure that your organization’s providers are basing their decisions on patients’ needs over other factors. Health care professionals struggle to help patients who lack the resources to cover the treatment they need. Ethical issues and access to healthcare J Infus Nurs. Healthcare informatics is a design of communication, information, and documentation in an electronic health record (EHR). Lacking a vaccine, public health officials have fought the outbreak with social distancing measures that slow the spread of the disease, helping to mitigate outbreak spikes that overwhelm medical facilities and ultimately result in more lives lost. Category: Nursing, November 15, 2020  |  Healthcare professionals, who are themselves at risk of infection, may be forced to decide which patients should receive treatment or access to lifesaving equipment and treatment when need exceeds capacity. Legal vs Ethical Issues . Conversations between a physician and a patient are strictly confidential, as is information about an individual’s medical condition. However, even anonymized data can be misused. Here are just six of the major ethical issues facing the healthcare industry in 2020. AI used for health-related predictive analysis relies on large, diverse datasets, including EHRs. A patient without insurance asks if she can have free samples of the medicine she needs. Helping students succeed has been her passion while serving in many areas of student affairs and adjunct teaching. Deliberating such complex practical and moral issues is a constant challenge in healthcare administration, and medical professionals can benefit greatly from training in ethical issues and public policy. The sometimes conflicting responsibilities of supporting optimal patient outcomes and fiscal responsibility can lead to a state of “moral injury.” Describing the injury of a person’s moral conscience and values resulting from the experience of committing a moral transgression, moral injury results in feelings of shame and guilt. Start studying 1.04 Legal & Ethical Issues in Healthcare Study Guide. . Population health is the analysis of health outcomes of large groups of people. These issues are a major focus for the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), which offers a working group for members that is specifically geared toward ongoing education about ethical, legal and social issues related to health informatics. What organizations should have access to data that can predict a patient’s future health issues? Protecting patient data is a core responsibility of healthcare providers, and the federal law restricting release of medical information strictly regulates the handling of sensitive patient health information, but the field of population health complicates issues of patient privacy. Confidentiality is linked to patient privacy, but has to do more with the conduct of the healthcare professional than with documentation. Ethical and legal issues, being two kinds of issues that are often brought up especially in organizations, are two terms that often clash with one another and at the same time working with one another on different occasions, as well. Reusing stored biological samples and data collected from research participants in past studies, as well as samples collected from patients for clinical or diagnostic purposes, raises new issues about the responsibility of healthcare providers to obtain informed consent. Robotics are already heavily used in healthcare; robot-assisted surgeries are now commonplace, and robotic prosthetics are advancing rapidly. Pressure from hospital administrations, insurance companies and managed care organizations further constrain the choices for treatment and prescriptions. When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, tens of thousands of cases had been confirmed across more than 100 countries. “ (Larson, 2013). Both ethically and legally, healthcare professionals are prohibited from sharing information about patients with other people. There are a variety of ethical and legal issues that arise with the growing use of health information technology in clinical settings. Patients expect that they can speak to healthcare professionals in confidence, and both legal and ethical guidelines exist to preserve that confidentiality. Specific provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, define exactly what information can be released and to whom. Sharing patient data for secondary purposes, such as population health programs, requires either consent from the patient or anonymization of the data. Health care professionals continually face ethical and legal issues in the workplace, putting them at risk for burnout. Ethical and legal dilemmas arise when the health care provider and the patient, or the patient’s family, have differing opinions on appropriate care. “First, do no harm.” The seemingly simple maxim of healthcare proves far more complex when considered in the context of rapidly advancing medical technology, constant budget constraints, and new health threats. The fact that the patient is incarcerated is only a circumstance of his or her situation and does not, and should not, change how the nurse practices or how the nurse views the patient. Each issued-based section includes related questions that highlight specific challenges that leaders face when making day-to-day medical decisions and far-reaching policies that affect patient health. Category: Articles, News, How to Become a Nursing Home Administrator, AdventHealth University’s Master of Science in Spiritual Care Gains Important Accreditation Affirmation, Healthcare Administration in Strategy and Innovation, Advanced Imaging Certificate in Vascular Interventional Radiography, Advanced Imaging Certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Advanced Imaging Certificate in Computed Tomography, Master of Healthcare Administration in Strategy and Innovation and Master of Business Administration (MHA/MBA) Dual Degree, “How Predictive Analytics in Healthcare Is Improving Patient Care”, , “First Digital Pill Approved to Worries About Biomedical ‘Big Brother’”, , “The Medical Ethics of the Coronavirus Crisis”, , “Too Many Tests, Too Little Time: Doctors Say They Face ‘Moral Injury’ Because of a Business Model That Interferes with Patient Care”, , “U.S. Whether population health information is matched to an individual or applied in aggregate to a population, if it’s used for purposes other than promoting health, it has the potential to negatively impact those who supplied the data. Because they hold large amounts of very personal data, they also carry the risk of privacy violation. Robotic health workers offer a potential answer to labor shortages, but their use could dehumanize those they’re meant to serve and those they replace. Appropriate actions may include disciplining or terminating a member of a health care team. The increasing role of big data and predictive analytics in medical decision-making raises questions about the ethics of big data in healthcare — specifically whether data-driven decisions risk dehumanizing patients. Protecting patient data is a core responsibility of healthcare providers, and the federal law restricting release of medical information strictly regulates the handling of sensitive patient health information, but the field of population health complicates issues of patient privacy. An Ethical and Legal Analysis”, Deloitte Insights, “Using Predictive Analytics in Health Care”, Electronic Health Reporter, “First Do No Harm: The Ethics of Healthcare in 2020”, GINAhelp.org, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, Healthcare Financial Management Association, “Beyond Compliance: Healthcare CFOs Face Many Situations in Which Ethics Can Guide Decision-making”, HealthITAnalytics, “What Are Precision Medicine and Personalized Medicine?”, HealthTech, “How Predictive Analytics in Healthcare Is Improving Patient Care”, Medical Xpress, “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns”, National Center for Biotechnology Information, “Considerations for Ethics Review of Big Data Health Research: A Scoping Review”, RoboticsBiz, “8 Ethical Issues in the Use of Robotics in Healthcare”, STAT, “Research in the Time of Coronavirus: Keep It Ethical”, The Conversation, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Forcing Us to Ask Some Very Hard Questions. The ethical code of health care professionals states that patients have the right to know the truth about their medical condition, and that they can choose treatment options. Fear of legal action may also cause providers to engage in “defensive medicine.” Writ… Who gets care when the number of patients exceeds a hospital’s capacity? A patient’s family asks the doctor not to tell their elderly mother that her tumor is malignant. The term “big data” refers to the proliferation of digital information in the modern age. A pioneer in online health sciences programs since 2001. It's necessary to work … Even efforts to reduce waste and inappropriate use of resources, critical aspects of responsible fiscal stewardship, can unintentionally impinge on patients’ best interests. Balancing care quality and efficiency. Wrestling with equal treatment vs. VIP treatment for donors and other influential people. How do you test the efficacy of a new medical technology without harming patients? In some instances, legal regulations prohibit people from carrying out certain tasks, such as administering life-saving support, that are considered morally permissible actions. With courses in innovation, strategy, and ethical issues and public policy, AdventHealth University Online’s Master of Healthcare Administration in Strategy and Innovation and Master of Business Administration (MHA/MBA) Dual Degree program develops strategic thinkers and leaders capable of making significant impacts and initiating positive change. Nurses discuss a patient in the hospital cafeteria, where confidential information is overheard by visitors. An illegal act, or one that is against the law, is almost always unethical. This information is protected by laws and regulations such as HIPPA, but there are still concerns Scott, et al, 2005). Health care professionals must know and follow HIPPA laws, and cannot disclose patient information. One of the constant ethical challenges facing healthcare administrators is how to make capital allocations that strike a balance between patients’ medical needs and fiscal responsibility. Legal and ethical issues are prevalent in the health care industry, and in particular for the nursing practice, where nurses have daily individual contact with patients. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 prohibits employers and health insurers from considering genetic information when making decisions such as hiring and firing or health insurance eligibility. Through the practice of de-anonymization, or data re-identification, anonymous data can be compared with publicly available information and matched to an individual. Customized medicine refers to the creation of bioidentical limbs and organs to replace injured or missing ones. Cite this document Summary … Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing. The digitization of patient information provides enormous benefits. Population health can discover widespread health problems or locate segments of the population that have a particularly high occurrence of a disease, for example. Access to care poses difficult ethical and legal dilemmas for health care professionals, who sign an oath not to harm their patient. . Here’s One Approach.”, , “Why Will It Take So Long for a COVID-19 Vaccine?”. The Core of Legal and Ethical Issues Ethical and efficient governance mechanisms are essential for the pharmaceutical sector and health care delivery. Such analysis promises more accurate diagnostic and therapeutic assessments, but assessments based purely on technology and data, no matter how accurate, lack an essential human touch. Nurses are subject to a plethora of legal, ethical, and professional duties which can be very challenging on a day to day basis. A rapid response during pandemics is crucial, but rushing healthcare efforts can add risk to processes such as drug trials. Our programs are designed to meet your need for flexibility. A malpractice suit is more likely to happen if a patient claims that his condition was misdiagnosed by a harried medical practitioner. A final theme addressed in this issue elucidates the legal and health policy conflicts that arise with the use of AI in health care. When pandemics and other widespread medical emergencies do overwhelm the capacity of medical facilities, even starker ethical questions arise. Striking a balance between quality care and efficiency can be challenging. Patients are vulnerable, and that vulnerability needs to be acknowledged and respected at all times. It thus has an obligation both toward government, which controls it, and toward the public that it s… The risk of moral injury can be particularly high in a profit-driven healthcare environment where multiple factors other than patient care influence treatment decisions. Medical researchers have long collected and stored blood and tissue samples for future research, but the value of biological samples has increased as advances have been made in genetics, genomics, and biotechnology. Therefore, interpretation of legal acts for allied health professionals varies greatly from state to Bonnie Fremgern, Ethical Issues in Healthcare Healthcare ethics and law are intertwined. Author Karen Trotochaud 1 Affiliation 1 Center for Ethics, Emory University, USA. Health administrators responsible for healthcare finance management decisions may be put in a position to question, for example, whether a drug needs to be prescribed or an imaging test needs to be done. Legal and ethical issues arise frequently, and are commonly encountered in certain fields such as medicine, healthcare and politics. Ethical issues related to medical errors can be categorized around four ethical principles: autonomy and right to self-determination; beneficence and nonmaleficence; disclosure and right to knowledge; and veracity (Bonney, 2014). Many nurses do not have formal education in legal and ethical issues, and as such as often unqualified to address these questions when they arise in the medical environment.xx… Electronic health records (EHRs) create a centralized, shareable record of a patient’s entire medical history; allow for the automation of healthcare provider workflows; and enable advanced medical assessment tools. The doctor wants to see a child for a follow-up visit, but his parents refuse, because of  limited insurance coverage. Addressing ethical issues in vector-borne diseases Zika has raised many specific ethical issues, in particular regarding pregnancy. Currently she is a dean of students at a large, public university. False Claims & Whistleblower Suits. The first ethical violation that Dr. Smith is guilty of is having a personal relationship with a patient. The protection of private patient information is one of the most important ethical and legal issues in the field of healthcare. A plastic surgeon discloses names of his well-known clients at a cocktail party. Due to staff shortages, a nurse is reassigned to another area, where the nursing staff lacks sufficient skill or training. The advent of predictive and prescriptive algorithms that can analyze large amounts of data also increases the potential privacy risks associated with stored medical specimens. Limited resources force tough choices in quality of care. Enabled by advances in the understanding of how unique molecular and genetic profiles make an individual susceptible to a particular disease, personalized medicine has applications in risk assessment, prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and management of diseases. The healthcare industry also now faces challenges related to … The Legal And Ethical Issues Of Health Care Of A Child Essay. Customized medicine and other advanced treatments raise issues of income inequality and equal access to healthcare. A patient may give permission to a healthcare provider or clinical researcher to use a tissue sample for one test, for example, but have no control over its use in future projects. The doctor disagrees with the patient’s request to forgo treatment. Health care professionals must maintain appropriate boundaries. This is an ethical concern that has legal implications. Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health external icon The Code is intended principally for public and other institutions in the United States that have an explicit public health mission. However, the ability of AI-powered tools to analyze virtually any dataset, from income data to criminal records, raises concerns about its potential for abuse. Course Summary Health 301: Ethical & Legal Issues in Healthcare has been evaluated and recommended for 3 semester hours and may be transferred to over 2,000 colleges and universities. Hospitals May Have to Ration Care During the Pandemic. As Daniel Callahan and Bruce Jennings have noted, “[p]ublic health is one of the few professions that has, in many matters, legal power–in particular, the police power of the state–behind it. Successful treatment outcomes can give rise to deep feelings of gratitude that may possibly mistaken for physical attraction. At a time when emerging technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) are challenging the fundamental notion of what a healthcare provider is, the battle to stop a worldwide pandemic reveals just how difficult ethical issues in healthcare can become when resources are strained. Whether forming technology ethics committees, fostering greater collaboration between healthcare administrators and clinicians, or influencing regulations that protect the use of personal information and predictive data, such leaders support ethical healthcare while balancing medical and financial responsibilities. Issues by nature are many and, today, many issues are brought up and are questioned upon their varying natures. AI refers to the ability of computers to mimic human intelligence and learning. Ethical and Legal Issues In the correctional setting, the patient is at the core of professional nursing practice. The medical secretary thinks she may have mistakenly mailed Patient A’s medical records to Patient B. A teenager requests medication for a painful condition, but his parents refuse, based on religious beliefs. Nearly every decision that’s made has ethical implications–for patients, for providers and for healthcare leaders. Find out more about how this unique program offered through a partnership between AdventHealth University Online and Stetson University is creating leaders to shape the future of the healthcare industry. The use and effectiveness of population health is increasing in the era of big data, which can be used to find links between diseases and specific environments or socioeconomic groups. Confidentiality - The protection of private patient information in the medical field is one of the most important ethical issues that may arise in the field of healthcare. The remainder of this chapter focuses on health care issues and planning for health decisions. The first ethical violation that Dr. Smith is guilty of is having a personal relationship with a patient. Nearly every decision that’s made has ethical implications--for patients, for providers and for healthcare leaders.“ (Larson, 2013). Efforts to lasso health care costs puts increasing pressure on staff to do more with less. Intervention is required if mutual respect is not shown or if boundaries are crossed. When determining how strict such measures should be, lawmakers and public health officials must balance the good of communities against individual liberties, a literal life-and-death decision with substantial financial, political, and social ramifications. Accidental or intentional disclosure of private patient information can result in litigation, huge fines and jail time for the violator. Links to information on ethical issues in the practice of public health. Large groups of people on staff to do more with the conduct the... 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