Healthcare Ethical Issues

Healthcare Ethical Issues
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Healthcare Ethical Issues
Healthcare policy formulation and reforms should be informed by an ethical guideline to ensure that any ethical issues that arise are addressed. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 has raised an ethical debate on its wake and the article by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) (n.d.) presents several ethical issues that relate to healthcare reforms. From a healthcare administrator’s point of view, balancing the quality, cost of and access to care is an ethical dilemma that needs to be addressed continuously through healthcare reforms. In terms of quality, people want access to high-quality care (ACEP, (n.d.). From a healthcare administrator’ s perspective, this means that provision of care should be done with utmost caution to avoid malpractice and negligence litigations. This is an ethical issue that healthcare administrators face every day. In terms of cost, in the absence of a healthcare policy that has a provision on how disadvantaged populations can be served, it becomes the responsibility of healthcare administrators to decide on the way forward. Should individuals from disadvantaged populations, who cannot afford healthcare, be treated regardless? As the ACEP (n.d.) reveals, lack of effective measures for cost containment limits access to healthcare for most people. Yet, healthcare administrators have a responsibility to ensure that people have access to care without any form of discrimination.
Another ethical issue involves end-of-life decisions. Healthcare administrators are constantly faced with end-of-life issues, especially at a time when the population is reaping the benefits of a high life expectancy. Having conversations with patients and family members about end-of-life options is an ethical issue that many healthcare administrators face. Also, protecting privacy, as well as re...