Legal and Ethical Issues in the Medical Field
Is it ethical to reject someone who needs treatment because of their insurance status? Is it ethical for hospitals to charge so much for treatment? This is not just an ethical issue in medicine, but a discussion often repeated in politics about how society wants to manage its health care system. This is a debate that has been raging in the United States for decades, with no end in sight. Politically, the United States will view this as the defining ethical issue of our time, with cost-effectiveness over health coming into direct conflict. In keeping with the non-malignancy principle of medical ethics, ensuring patient safety and preventing injury or harm to them is a top priority for healthcare providers (1). This makes it the most important element of the quality of health services in the world. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report entitled “Man is fallible: create a safe health system” on the incidence of medical errors in the United States, ushering in a major international shift in patient safety (2). As a result, Iran`s healthcare system has implemented special plans to provide standard health services and avoid errors, as well as an organized approach to managing risks, systematic deficiencies and improving patient safety (3). One such program is clinical governance, which was introduced by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) and launched in November 2009. While the MESMM emphasized the importance of clinical governance, there are some challenges to achieving desired outcomes (4). This may be the result of insufficient understanding by healthcare providers of the importance of clinical governance and the lack of an organizational safety culture (5, 6). The healthcare industry is constantly evolving as legislators, payers, patients and other stakeholders adapt to new realities. In health systems, the governance, risk and compliance (GRC) function is not just the task of following the law. Providers and support staff also need to understand the changing legal landscape.
The rapid growth of the medical industry in the United States has created a growing demand for skilled clinical leaders who understand the complexities and challenges of healthcare systems, practices, and ethical issues. An online Master of Business Administration (MBA) program specializing in health management includes general management as well as accounting and marketing strategies. Typical core courses in an online MBA program in Health Management include legal and ethical issues in health care. An MBA in Health Management graduate will be prepared to improve patient care from a business perspective at the department or organizational level. Finding the causes and finding the right solution, i.e. the basic analysis of the incident, is one of the first essential steps to reduce the frequency of patient injuries. It should be noted that the mentioned process must be free of bias and should focus on finding and correcting the root cause rather than identifying the person responsible. One way to prevent such events is to have a special policy to report the event in an appropriate organized ethical atmosphere, without blaming anyone. Indeed, fear of blame, penalties, limited organizational support, insufficient feedback and lack of knowledge of the factors involved are some of the barriers to reporting medical errors in hospitals (12). Here`s a step-by-step example of how you can address ethical violations in your practice.
First, it is essential to recognize and examine potential ethical issues in health care. Bring together different disciplines and create an environment in which people can talk and feel comfortable, regardless of their seniority. This ethical framework encompasses four key principles of ethical decision-making in the health sector. It is imperative that today`s physicians have forensic training. Physicians are required by law to comply with applicable ethical and legal regulations in their daily practice. Ignorance of the law and its effects will be harmful to the physician, even if he treats the patient in good faith to relieve the patient`s suffering.