Business Ethics in Veterinary Practice

Business Ethics
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Introduction
Technology is evolving at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that the last decade has witnessed more technological advancements than any other period in the history of humanity. Experts argue that there is no turning back when it comes to technological advancement. The coming years are likely to have even more technological shifts as humans seek to make work easier through the use of computerized systems. As technological advancements occur, every facet of human life is affected. Professions are also affected. Veterinary medicine is one of the professions that is affected by technological advancements. While there are many positive effects of technology on veterinary medicine practice, ethical and legal issues arise. The ethical and legal issues that technology has brought upon the veterinary medicine practice will be discussed for this assignment.
Ethical Dilemma
The ethical situation chosen for this assignment is high-quality business ethics in veterinary practice. The business ethical issue is related to technological advancements explained above. In modern days, veterinary medicine practitioners can interact with pet owners online. Therefore, whenever their services are needed, they can be contacted through telemedicinal platforms. Further, since we are in the age of big data, modern veterinary practitioners have access to data collected from pet owners. Consequently, privacy issues have arisen where some veterinary practitioners are selling confidential data to third parties such as researchers. Privacy and confidentiality are key to ethical practice, and it is unfortunate when some veterinary practitioners violate the privacy/ confidentiality concerns (Sison et al., 2017). It is this example situation that will be used for this analysis.
Identification of Relevant Issues
The first issue relevant to the situation identified above is the use of technology to manipulate clients’ data in unauthorized ways. The issue of manipulating data for personal gains is not new. Issues have been raised about individuals and companies who sell confidential information to business people for the purposes of self-gain. In the case of veterinary medicine, there are various kinds of information that can be compromised. The first set of information relates to the particular pets that the veterinary practitioner services. This information might be useful to researchers or to businesses that sell pet food or other amenities. The second kind of data that may be manipulated is the locations of the pets. The location may also be important to researchers or businesses dealing with pet products. The other kind of information that might be manipulated includes the age of the pets, the owners, the neighborhoods, and the sex of the pets. Despite the kind of information shared, it is highly unethical for the practitioner to do so without the consent of the pet owner.
The second issue that arises is the safety of the online platforms used in offering veterinary medical services. The common person may not be aware of any safety concerns associated with the use of online platforms. However, cyber security th...