HIMT340-ch.1 (BF)

Defensive medicine

Physicians may order unnecessary tests and procedures in order to protect themselves from a lawsuit because they are able to then say "I did everything I could to help the patient."

What is the problem with measuring our actions using only the law?

The law allows many actions that are morally offensive, such as lying and manipulating people. It does not punish actions that are legal, but unethical.

What is a litigious society?

A society in which people have becomes excessively inclined to sue healthcare practitioners

Medical Law

Addresses legal rights and obligations that affect patients and protect individual rights, including those of healthcare employees

Why is it easy to become confused when studying medical law and ethics?

Although the two are different concepts, they often overlap

Why study ethics?

In spite of many gray areas of ethics, we are expected to take the right action when confronted with an ethical dilemma. We must consider the consequences of wrongdoing. We must learn to think about the ethics of an action and then how to translate those thoughts into action.

Ethics

Is the branch of philosophy related to morals, moral principles, and moral judgments. Ethical behavior is that which puts the common good above self interest. It's concerned with the obligation of what we should or out to do.

What is the problem with defensive medicine?

It can be costly and it can put the patient through unnecessary and uncomfortable tests. In some cases, physicians may even avoid ordering tests or procedures that may carry a risk for the patient because they do not want to take a chance that a lawsuit may result if the patient outcome is poor.

What is the benefit of the veil of ignorance?

It would allow the decision makers to be impartial in their decisions. This would mean that no one would be advantaged or disadvantaged.

What are some common items of unprofessional conduct?

Practicing medicine without a license, impaired ability to practice medicine due to addiction or mental illness, conviction of a felony. insufficient record keeping, allowing an unlicensed person to practice medicine, physical abuse of patients, prescribing drugs in excessive amounts

Examples of practices that are always illegal, immoral, and unethical under medical law

Practicing without a license, medicaid fraud, and patient rape

Law directs actions into legal and illegal categories, however, ethical issues

are not so easily divided into two categories such as right and wrong

Laws

are rules or actions prescribed by an authority such as the Federal Government and the court system that have a binding legal force.

Teleological theory

asserts that an action is right or wrong depending on whether it produces good or bad consequences. Utilitarianism is an example of this theory.

Deontological ethical theory

asserts that at least some actions are right or wrong and ,thus, we have a duty obligation to perform them or refrain from performing them, without consideration of the consequences. Duty based ethics is an example of this.

Many of our beliefs are based on our

emotions. For example, we believe something is wrong when we feel guilt after doing so.

Rights-based ethics

natural rights ethical theory places the primary emphasis on a person's individual rights. The ethical theory states that rights belong to all people purely by virtue of their being human. In the example of organ donation, every person in need of an organ has the same right to receive one.

Ethics always involves

people. This includes patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and the general public.

A study of law, ethics, and bioethics can assist the medical professional in making a sound decision based on________

reason and logic rather than on emotion or a "gut feeling".

Ethic uses

reason and logic to analyze problems and find solutions. Ethics is concerned with the actions and practices that are directed at improving the welfare of people in a moral way.

The study of ethics forces us to use

reason and logic to answer difficult questions concerning life, death, and everything in between.

Utilitarianism is a consequence-based ethical theory

that follows the premise that the ends (consequences) justify the means (methods for achieving the ends)

A problems that arises when utilitarianism, or cost/benefit analysis, is used for making ethical decisions is

that some people will inevitably fall through the cracks.

Remember that ethics always involves formal consideration of

the interests of others in deciding how to act or behave. In fact, some philosophers believe that almost every decision to do anything is an ethical decision.

What is the downside to duty-based ethics?

the mandate to do things out of sense of duty regardless of the consequences. We may hear conflicting opinions about what is our duty or responsibility in particular circumstances.

Medical ethics concerns questions specifically related to

the practice of medicine. This branch of ethics is based on principles regulating the behavior of healthcare professionals, including practitioners such as physicians, nurses, and other allied health professionals.

The downside to rights-based ethics is that

there can be incidents of individualistic selfish behavior which is independent of the outcomes (consequences). For example, unions protect their membership while excluding the rights of the non-union members of society.

Bioethics

A branch of applied ethics and a field resulting from modern medical advances and research

Applied Ethics

A practical application of moral standards that are meant to benefit the patient

While studying ethics, what questions should you ask yourself?

Do you know what you would do in each of the following situations? Do you know whether or not you are exposing yourself to a lawsuit?

Medical Practice Acts

Established in all 50 states by statutes ( laws enacted by state and federal legislatures) apply specifically to the way medicine is practiced in a particular state. These acts define the meaning of the "practice of medicine" as well as requirements and methods for licensure. They also define what constitutes unprofessional conduct in that particular state.

What are some examples of some illegal actions that can be ethical?

Exceeding the speed limit when rushing an injured child to the hospital

What is the ultimate goal for teaching medical law, ethics, and bioethics?

So students understands complex healthcare public policy from all sides of an issue, regardless of personal beliefs

It is important to keep in mind that unless a decided case is overturned in an appeals court, it is considered to have established a precedent. This means__________

That the decision of the case acts as a model for any future cases in which the facts are the same

What is a further caution about relying on the law for moral decision making?

The requirements of the law often tend to be negative, while the standards of morality often seen to be positive. For example, morality would tell us to give aid to a drowning victim even if the law does not mandate that we do so.

What do opponents of this theory argue is the downside of the justice-based theory?

They believe it is unfair for the healthy to subsidize the unhealthy

What is our primary duty as a healthcare worker?

To promote good patient care and to protect patients from harm

What kind of questions does ethics ask?

Tough questions like "How should we act?" and "How should we live?". The answers are often subjective and vary depending on the circumstances

When following a moral line of reasoning it is advisable to

carefully take apart the issues, restate them in your own words, and offer an interpretation, and even a criticism of them.

What are some examples of unethical acts that aren't illegal?

cheating on a test or an insurance company denying payment for a life-saving heart transplant on a 70 year old man

Law are often reactive and may lag behind the __________

moral standards of society. For example, slavery, sexual harassment, and racial discrimination.

Duty-based ethics

focuses on performing one's duty to various people and institutions such as parents, employers, employees, and customers (patients). This line of moral reasoning follows the belief that our actions should be universal which means that everyone would act the same way with the same set of circumstances.

It is important for every healthcare provider to develop

his or her own personal value system. Whenever you are involved in an ethical dilemma, you must analyze actions and their consequences to all concerned parties.

Indigent

impoverished

Utilitarianism

is an ethical theory based on the principle of what is the greatest good to the greatest number of people. This theory is concerned with the impact of actions, or final outcomes, on the welfare of society as a whole.

Justice based ethics

is based on an important moral restraint called the veil of ignorance. It is a belief that all social contracts, such as who should receive a scarce organ donation, should be handled so that no one would know the gender, age, race, health, number of children, income, wealth, or any other arbitrary personal information about the recipient

Another important reason for studying ethics and the law is that people often convince themselves that what they are doing __ ___ _____.

is not wrong

Morality

is the quality of being virtuos or practicing the right conduct

Cost/benefit analysis

justifies the means of achieving a goal. In other words, if the benefit (or well-being) of a decision outweighs the cost (financial or otherwise) of achieving a goal, then the means to obtain the goal would be justified.

Amoral

lacking or indifferent to moral standards