Code of Ethics: Guiding the Behavior and Conducting of the Individual Professionals

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Outline

All major professions have a set of guidelines which is known as code of ethics which guide the behavior and conduct of the individual professionals. As far as medical professionals are considered, the code of ethics is particularly important for them because they are the people who are responsible for the health and recovery of their patients. The medical ethical codes were first established by the American Medical Association in the year 1847. The medical laws are implemented to enforce discipline. It could also be used when medical practitioners violate the code of ethics which is framed by the association or, when there are any malpractices like failing to provide appropriate diagnosis, or line of treatment.

An organization in the health care industry – American Medical Association

American Medical Association was founded by Nathan Smith Davis in the year 1847 and it was incorporated in the year 1897. It is ranked as the largest association of medical students and physicians in USA. It was awarded for its commitment towards the service it delivers, involving communities and also for maintaining medical professionalism.

Its mission is to promote medical art and to provide better health care services to the public and also to raise money for medical education.

Code of Ethics

Assessing and describing the Bioethical issues of American Medical Association

The health care professional frequently confronts ethical confusions. When the ethical principles get violated, it will lead to various ethical disputes and issues within the organization. “The increasing occurrence of medical malpractice and the need to improve the quality of medical care have become nationwide problems that warrant greater efforts than those than can be undertaken by any individual state” (Judson, Harrison & Hicks, 2007, p.44, chap.2). According to American Medical Association (AMA), ethical standards mean moral principles or practices. AMA has an ethical committee which is framed to examine the ethical issues relating to patient care. The various bio ethical issues are issues related to organ donation and transplantation. The transplanting of human organs is considered to be an expensive and complex task. The difficulty in maintaining the confidential records of the patients is also considered to be a great problem. Everyday the newspapers are reporting the ethical issues that are faced by health care providers, society and the patients. HIV patients are also striving for their rights to maintain confidentiality of their medical reports.

The American Medical Association is supplying lesser number of medical practitioners and the available practitioners are paid high. The AMA is artificially creating a shortage of medical practitioners so that they can charge the fee at a higher rate and earn more. The patients are not given proper attention. The blind patients are not treated carefully by the nurses. The primary responsibility of treating the patients is vested in the hands of the medical practitioners and secondarily it is vested in the hands of the nurses. In order to solve these problems, nurses should be given separate guidelines or a set of ethical practices that should be maintained in every organization. Some medical practitioners refuse to treat the patients who are suffering from infectious diseases such as Aids, Swine flu, malaria etc. If the medical practitioners refuse to treat HIV d patients, just imagine the condition of those patients. There being no prescribed medicine for these kinds of diseases, the patient needs proper care and counseling from the medical practitioners.

A medical practitioner should not refuse to treat any type of patients. It is the duty of a medical practitioner to be committed to his work in all senses. If a medical practitioner refuses to treat a patient, then he/she is doing injustice to the medical profession. In the modern days, it is seen that those who are financially sound will get high class treatment and those from poor background are neglected. The main reason for this problem is the rising cost of both health care insurance and medical treatment. Practicing by medical practitioners in more than one hospital, other than from their house, should be strictly avoided. Drugs and sharing of needles may also affect the non-medical practitioners. It is also seen that the lesbian communities are being ignored and they are not provided proper treatment when they approach the medical practitioners. There are many issues related with the death of the patients during operation because of the carelessness of the doctors and other staff who assist them.

How can these issues be resolved?

Following ethics is a central issue when it comes to the field of medicine. The medical practitioners should give importance not only to the laws that are related to their profession but also all sorts of legal and ethical issues that are influencing the patients they treat. There are certain measures whereby all theses issues can be solved. They are:

The medical records of the patients who are suffering from infectious diseases such as HIV, swine flu etc should be kept confidentially with them.
In United States, the patients are having right to sue the medical practitioner in certain cases when the medical practitioners refuse to treat the patients when they approach.
Proper guidelines should be given to all the employees in the organization that the personal records of the patients should not be disclosed.
A strictly followed code of ethics helps in reducing the legal and ethical issues.
The health care organizations should make required facilities and arrangements for all the patients who are in need of any transplanting surgery.
If any medical practitioner refuses to treat a patient that particular practitioner should be sued and should be restricted to practice this profession for a particular time period.
The method of creating artificial scarcity of medical practitioners should be restricted.
The patients should be aware of all the rights against any malpractices performed by the health care organizations.
The medical practitioner is responsible for legally examining the records of the patient and it must be confidential.
All types of patients should be given equal care and consideration.

How would a code of ethics guide and impact the behavior of the health care professionals in this organization?

A code of ethics is the outcome of anticipated or actual ethical conflict. Code of ethics helps these organizations to deliver quality services to the patients approaching them. Every organization will have a set of code of conduct which must be strictly followed. “Organizations such as WHO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have recognized the necessity for creating specific guidelines to protect human rights in health-care settings. The principal issue involved is the influence that various socio cultural and religious backgrounds exert in different countries” (Zahedi & Larijani, 2008, Introduction, para.2).

If a proper and well defined code of ethics is implemented, the employees including the medical practitioners will be aware of their duties and responsibilities towards the society, people and the organization. It improves the quality of services rendered by the health care organizations. Understanding the laws and ethics will definitely help the medical practitioners to provide competent and compassionate care to their patients within the acceptable ethical and legal boundaries. The rapid advancement of technology is a major factor which influences the implementation of laws and ethics in health care organizations.

Reference

Judson, K., Harrison, C.,& Hicks, S. (2007). Law and ethics for medical careers: Healthcare quality improvement act of 1986 (4^th ed.). McGraw-Hill Primis.

Zahedi, F., & Larijani, B. (2008). National bioethical legislation and guidelines for biomedical research in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Introduction. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 86 (8), 630-634. Web.

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