Ethics in Health Care Flashcards
What is ethics?
Study of &reflection on everyday morality. Includes:
- Rules of conduct
- Rules & regulations
- Values
- Research
- Moral principles
- Ethical practices
What are the 3 prototypes of ethical problems?
- Moral distress
- Ethical dilemma
- Locus of authority problem
What is moral distress?
- Emotional cue that you need to respond as a moral agent
- Occurs when you experience emotional or cognitive discomfort, or both, because external/internal barriers are stopping you from doing what you know is right
What are examples of internal & external barriers that cause moral distress?
- External: Funding rules in a hospital
- Internal: Fear of repercussion for reporting harassment
- High level of uncertainty
What are the 2 types of moral distress?
- Type A: Know what to do/what is right but can’t
- Type B: Wrong but can’t work out why
When does an ethical dilemma occur and how can it be resolved?
When there are 2 or more morally correct courses of action that cannot both be followed
To resolve:
- Pick the least bad option
- Make an informed decision
- Seek advice from others who have dealt with a similar situation
What is a locus of authority problem?
- When it is unclear who is the rightful moral agent to carry out the action & be held responsible for the outcome OR
- On reflection in the specific context of the issue, it becomes clear that the wrong person has the authority
To resolve a locus of authority problem, what should discussion include?
- Who has the most expertise
- Traditional practices regarding who makes what decisions
- Policies and guidelines
- Respect for experience
- Remember the ultimate goal is an outcome that is consistent with a caring response
What are the principles of dealing with ethical problems?
- Nonmaleficence (refraining from potentially harming self or another)
- Beneficence (bringing about good)
- Fidelity (making promises)
- Autonomy
- Veracity (telling truth)
- Justice
- Paternalism (deciding
for someone else)
What is the ethics of confidentiality?
- Practice of keeping harmful patient information within proper bounds
- Ethical & legal issue
- Basic principle of health care practice
- Supported by legislation: Privacy Act 1988
What does the Privacy Act 1988 state?
- ALL personal info collected in the course of providing a health service is considered health info
- Health info = “sensitive info”
- Includes info held in any form
What does personal information include user the Privacy Act 1988?
- Health or disability
- Expressed wishes about future health treatment
- Personal details (name, address, admission/discharge dates, billing info, Medicare number)
- Physical or biological samples
- Genetic info
What are the aims of confidentiality?
- Facilitate the sharing of sensitive info with the goal of helping the patient
- Exclude unauthorized people from such info
- Discern need-to-know infofrom mere interest in deciding what to share
When can confidentiality be breached legally?
- An emergency in which keeping the confidence will harm the patient
- Patient is incompetent or incapacitated, & a 3rd party needs to be informed to be a surrogate decision maker
- 3rd parties are at serious risk of harm
- A serious risk that means others may be harmed (eg terrorist threat)
What are strategies for maintaining confidentiality?
- DON’T share details with anyone else out of ‘interest’
- BEWARE ‘corridor conversations’
- TAKE CARE with sensitive info
- AVOID talking about patients in the lunch room
- ASK the patient if it’s ok to share their info if there’s a good reason to do so (eg a referral elsewhere)
