Ethical issues in healthcare essay

In the healthcare sector, high ethical standards are critical for the delivery of care. Ethical challenges in the healthcare sector are very common today. Almost each decision that is made has ethical consequences for both the patients and healthcare providers as well as the healthcare leaders (Barkhordari-Sharifabad, Ashktorab, & Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, 2017). This paper seeks to address the ethical issues that impact clinical leaders and hospital administrators on the one hand and on the other, ethical issues that impact the health workforce. The lack of access to basic medical care is one of the biggest ethical issues facing healthcare leaders today. As the population grows old, end-of-life issues will increasingly become important (Barkhordari-Sharifabad, Ashktorab, & Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, 2017). This is because the whole process of making decisions and the financing for end-of-life care will require thorough discussions by the healthcare leaders since such issues tend to have an impact on many people.

Ethical issues arise during the patient's capacity to make decisions regarding their end-of-life care as well as their refusal to treat. Additionally, ethical issues emerge when it comes to withdrawing or withholding life-supporting treatment by the physicians. This may include withdrawal from providing proper hydration and nutrition. More often, healthcare workers are forced to decide whether they should ensure quality or practice efficiency in order to assist more patients. This has become an essential ethical dilemma since the delivery of quality care is central to being a nurse. But sometimes having to overlook quality care is a big ethical issue for both the patients and the nurses. Nurses may choose to overlook efficiency and deliver quality, but it would imply that most patients would receive late treatment and it would not be ethical in a life and death scenario (Fineberg, Bobby, & Bulger, 1995).

Alternatively, nurses can decide to overlook quality and deliver efficient care, but it would result in dissatisfaction for the patients based on the type of care they will receive. There may also be issues in an effort to balance the risk and benefits of the research, the privacy, and confidentiality of the patients during the research. Furthermore, ethical challenges may arise when involving patients who may not have the capability to give their approval before taking part in a research project. When a patient is incapable of making certain decisions relating to their health care, the professionals may use a substitute decision maker (Breslin, MacRae, Bell, & Singer, 2005). In most cases, these substitute decision-makers find decision-making tasks to be burdensome since they are required to struggle with the responsibilities attached to making decisions that may potentially threaten the lives of their loved ones.

Substitute decision-makers face the greatest challenge when this burden has been entrusted unto them without guidance from the patients concerning what they would wish to happen in their current circumstances (Breslin, MacRae, Bell, & Singer, 2005). For example, ethical issues may arise during the migration of healthcare workers from the poorer to the wealthier nations. This is because the emigration of excess workers may be beneficial to a country or state (Cash, 2005). Such workers might have failed to be secure employment locally, but end up being financial support to their societies back at home. Ethical issues also arise when health workers leave their home countries due to underemployment of unemployment due to limited resources. Ethical issues may arise during responses to emergencies, epidemics and disasters for the people involved including the policymakers and health specialists (Leider, DeBruin, Reynolds, Koch, & Seaberg, (2017).

Almost every country that has a publicly funded healthcare system and experiences issues relating to waiting and access to healthcare services. Health care experts tend to believe that being forced to wait for the needed care in most cases tends to impact the health status as well as the outcome of patients (Pitt, Guilbert, & Williams, 2003). This may slow their ability to fully recover and function normally both at home and work. Additionally, waiting lists create psychological distress. At times, waiting lists lead to the inappropriate utilization of scarce resources. It becomes difficult for professionals to make decisions around the correct time to change from providing curative acre to providing palliative care. Violations to the code of ethics may arise when there is a boundary violation of the relationship between the doctor and the patient (Kaba & Sooriakumaran, 2007).

This is behavior that contravenes the boundaries of the professional relationship. It is possible for boundary violations to harm or exploit the patient. For example when a doctor sets up a dinner meeting with a patient. , & Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F. Obstacles and problems of ethical leadership from the perspective of nursing leaders: a qualitative content analysis. Journal of medical ethics and the history of medicine, 10. Barnard, D. , Bui, T. M. , MacRae, S. K. , Bell, J. , & Singer, P. , & Bulger, R. E. (Eds. Society's choices: social and ethical decision making in biomedicine. National Academies Press. Ethical Guidance for Disaster Response, Specifically Around Crisis Standards of Care: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Public Health, 107(9), e1–e9. https://doi. org/10. 2105/AJPH. 1111/scs. 12376 Pitt, D. F. , Noseworthy, T.