Ethics in Healthcare

Individual Case Study: Approaches to Ethical Dilemmas Using the text, Ethics Case Studies for Health Information Management select one of the 29 case studies listed in the text. Write a 1,000-to-1,250 word paper including the following: Answer the discussion questions located at the end of the case you selected. Describe what ethical issues you may encounter and how you intend on approaching them (and why). Include what therapeutic approach you would use if appropriate (and why). Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Identify the case study on your Title Page. The case study should be cited and then listed on the Reference Page. ETHICS CASE STUDIES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT C A S E 2 9 A Case That Hits Close to Home Kendra Brown, Registered Health Information Technician, CCS, is the Assistant Director of Health Information Services at Memorial Hospital. Dr. Philip Russell, the chairman of the medical staff committee, enters Kendra’s office accompanied by Sue Davidson, the facility risk manager. Sue requests records of all patients in the past two years who have had gastric bypass surgery by Dr. Lester Brown and states that they will be back for them in 20 minutes. Kendra reminds Sue that the department policy for study requests is 24 hours, but Sue tells her that this is an urgent matter. Sue and Kendra are close friends and have both worked at Memorial Hospital for 15 years. Sue confides in Kendra that Dr. Russell needs the records in response to a patient death after surgery, with the family threatening a lawsuit against the facility. She also states that there have been similar incidents with Dr. Brown’s patients over the past two years, and Dr. Russell wants to look into the situation and potentially take appropriate action. Kendra lets Sue know that she will pull the records immediately and thanks her for sharing the information with her. She runs the report of Dr. Brown’s patients who have had gastric bypass procedures over the past year and pulls the records from the list. Kendra’s mother is scheduled to have gastric bypass surgery by Dr. Brown next week, so naturally, she is curious about the reason for Dr. Russell’s inquiry. As Kendra pulls the records for Dr. Russell, she briefly examines the documentation on the charts that indicate a complication may have occurred. She is astonished to discover that all except for one of Dr. Brown’s patients were either re-admitted with serious complications or had extended stays due to complications from the procedure. She notes that 24 of the 78 patients expired due to complications from the procedure. Because of these findings, Kendra feels the need to warn her mother to reconsider her decision for surgery or to seek another surgeon. Kendra returns to her office and calls her mother. Although not revealing any details of her findings, she tells her mother that she has seen something disturbing at work regarding Dr. Brown’s gastric bypass patients. She does include her concern regarding the fact that there have been a significant number of gastric bypass patients who have died after the procedure. Kendra asks her mother if she might reconsider her surgery scheduled for next week or at least seek a different surgeon. Sue overhears Kendra’s phone conversation and enters Kendra’s office. When Kendra gets off the phone, Sue confronts her about the content of her discussion with her mother. Kendra responds, “I couldn’t help but notice a trend in the outcomes of the records I was pulling, especially the number of patients who died after the procedure. Obviously, you are well-aware of what is going on. Wouldn’t you do the same thing if your mother were scheduled to have gastric bypass with Dr. Brown?” 9781133822981, Ethics Case Studies for Health Information Management, Leah A. Grebner - © Cengage Learning. Discussion Questions 1. What internal and external forces impact Sue’s concerns in this case? 2. What internal and external forces impact Kendra’s concerns in this case? 3. What ethical concerns are presented in this case? 4. Discuss the issues presented in this case as they relate to the American Health Information Management Association Code of Ethics. CASE 29 A CASE THAT HITS CLOSE TO HOME 93 9781133822981, Ethics Case Studies for Health Information Management, Leah A. Grebner - © Cengage Learning. 94 ETHICS CASE STUDIES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 5. What legal issues need to be considered regarding this case? 6. How should Sue respond to Kendra’s statement at the end of this case? 7. List the legal and ethical violations made by Kendra in this case. 8. Discuss the case from both Sue and Kendra’s point of view. What would you do if you were in either of their positions? 9781133822981, Ethics Case Studies for Health Information Management, Leah A. Grebner - © Cengage Learning. 9. Using the case method, identify what you consider to be the greatest legal or ethical dilemma in this case and determine the best option for resolution. CASE 29 A CASE THAT HITS CLOSE TO HOME 95 9781133822981, Ethics Case Studies for Health Information Management, Leah A. Grebner - © Cengage Learning.