assignment 9- Ethics

Critical Thinking: Article Review and Evaluation (110 points)

Utilizing the Library, locate and read three scholarly peer-reviewed articles on standards and regulation for healthcare administrators, such as medical privacy, autonomy, and electronic health records. Write a three- to four-page paper providing a brief summary of the key points in each article from a legal and ethical perspective; then compare and contrast the findings and recommendations from the perspective of healthcare administrator or chief of medical staff.

Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:

· Be three to four pages in length, not including the cover or reference pages.

· Formatted according to Saudi Electronic University and APA writing guidelines.

· Provide support for your statements with in-text citations from a minimum of four scholarly articles. Two of these sources may be from the class readings, textbook, or lectures, but two must be external.

· Utilize headings to organize the content in your work.

Healthcare Administration Standards

-------

ID ---------

HCM515 – Health Ethics and Law

Saudi Electronic University

Dr. -------

-------, 2017

Healthcare Administration Standards

It is important that healthcare administrators utilize all available resources to provide high quality of patient healthcare. They need to have a good understanding of the balance between the administrative and clinical roles in healthcare and skills to organize and direct programs that attain this balance. Also, they need to have current knowledge in order to provide the best possible solutions to specific problems they encounter everyday (Harris, 2015). They must adapt principles, standards and regulations in healthcare that will promote safe healthcare practices. Healthcare administration standards involve ethical standards such as privacy, equity and confidentiality. The challenges and problems that could occur can be solved by using administrative skills and effective decision making based on professional code of ethics (Flite & Harman, 2013). This script is describing privacy, equity and autonomy as ethical standards of healthcare administration taken from three articles, summarizing important information of each article and comparing findings and recommendations.

Privacy in Practice

Privacy in practice is a study conducted in northeastern USA to explore privacy in healthcare practices, its importance in healthcare and its role in everyday work (Anthony & Stablein, 2016). Privacy discourse can challenge practices of information control among healthcare professionals in presence of advanced technologies and defined laws (Anthony & Stablein, 2016). It showed that professional ethics and awareness of patient rights are highly important. In addition to, compliance of legal regulations and proper use of technologies. The authors found differences across healthcare professionals in which some protect patient information as one of the professional ethical principles while others think of it as it is central in their occupational work (Anthony & Stablein, 2016). Inappropriately, privacy ethical standard is viewed as one of the bureaucratic standards in healthcare settings rather than a professional obligation to keep and respect (Anthony & Stablein, 2016).

Different understandings and definitions of privacy among healthcare professional are possibly due to different professional orientations, career development and nature of organizations. Significantly, these differences propose that some healthcare professionals can resist changes of new technologies and hospital policies while others consider healthcare information systems and new policies as challenges to control patient information (Anthony & Stablein, 2016). Healthcare professionals may change their practices to adapt new policies and technologies in healthcare settings. Implications of changes in practice can clarify how privacy can be kept. Therefore, it is recommended to explore this aspect in future studies.

Authority, power and status of healthcare professionals including healthcare administrators can play an important role in keeping patients’ privacy. This can raise many ethical questions of who should have access to the patient information and for what purposes (Chalmers & Muir, 2003). More importantly, effective information protection, supervision, accountability, performance assessment and resourceful healthcare administration are highly needed in healthcare (Chalmers & Muir, 2003). There is a future recommendation to explore how privacy and information control may change within healthcare professional groups and between them.

Certainly, privacy is an essential professional ethical standard in healthcare. It is an important standard for healthcare administrator and healthcare professional to keep. For example, privacy of health records is not protected well which needs implementing laws and action plans by healthcare administrators (Marini, 2015). Advancement in technology have shown the need of information control and privacy protection which might not be impractical to manage but as well difficult to live with (Langheinrich, 2001). Awareness of healthcare professionals code of ethics is not sufficient if not well practiced.

Health Inequality

This is a study conducted to explore treatment of unexplained healthcare inequalities from an ethical perspective as well as the proper method of healthcare inequality analysis (Asada, Hurley, Norheim & Johri, 2015). Health Utilities Index (HUI) survey is used to observe socioeconomic, demographic features and health behaviors in healthcare inequities. Measurement of healthcare inequities were determined based on two estimate standardized methods which are unexplained inequality are ethically acceptable and unacceptable unfair healthcare inequalities (Asada, Hurley, Norheim & Johri, 2015).

There are three proposals of healthcare inequalities and inequities treatment that healthcare administrators and leaders can do. These proposals include stop-gap resolution that passes the ethical questions to users of healthcare inequality information. Another proposal is the explanation of relationships of health, health determinants and lack of understanding them. Third proposal is using available resources to address healthcare inequities based on correct analysis and judgments.

Findings of study illustrate that age, education and gender are ethically unacceptable causes of healthcare inequalities while weight, smoking and physical status are ethically acceptable causes of healthcare inequalities (Asada, Hurley, Norheim & Johri, 2015). This suggest that unexplained healthcare inequalities are not ethically acceptable. The study emphasizes the need of implementing strong policies and laws that promote population health and fight healthcare inequities and inequalities. Also, well understanding of code of ethics and patients’ rights can help healthcare administrators to improve ethical decision making of healthcare inequities and to deliver safe and equal healthcare services to all (Flite & Harman, 2013). It is recommended to do further analysis of healthcare inequities to set proper treatment plans, effective solutions and better understanding of ethical judgment.

Ethical awareness of healthcare standards is considered a method to improve accountability, responsibility and equity in healthcare delivery (Pinto et al., 2012). Healthcare equity will support in developing clear and actual action plans to be implemented (Pinto et al., 2012). Therefore, healthcare administrators’ insights into the objectives and proposed approaches for achieving healthcare equity will promote high quality of healthcare services to all (Pinto et al., 2012).

Supporting patient autonomy: The importance of clinician- patient relationship. This study is conducted to assess the importance of patients’ autonomy as an ethical principle, autonomy challenges and implications of social relationship on patients’ autonomy. Findings showed that different healthcare practices can affect the patients’ autonomy and their self-evaluations (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010). Healthcare administrators need to emphasize proper professional communication of healthcare providers that support patients’ autonomy and decisions. Clear communication and understanding will support a good patient-healthcare professionals’ relationship which will improve respect of patients’ autonomy (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010). Authors believe that social relationships are highly important to patients’ autonomy. Therefore, healthcare administrators need to ensure that healthcare providers recognize the importance of positive interactions with patients (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010).

Efforts to provide high quality of healthcare services and better patient experience depend on understanding patients’ rights and communicating well with patients. Using effective communication skills will promote patient health, safety and quality of healthcare services (Zakari, Al Khamis & Hamadi, 2010). The study encourage that patients should be offered options and choices about their healthcare interventions (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010). Illness can affect patents’ autonomy by undermining their self-evaluations. Also, culture and social norms can affect their autonomy. Further studies are recommended to assess the balance between allowing and permitting patients to make their healthcare decisions (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010).

Comparison of articles’ findings and recommendations. Privacy, autonomy and healthcare equity are important ethical principles that every healthcare administrators should pay attention to. The findings of the first article; privacy in practice indicate that awareness of patient rights, compliance of legal regulations and professional code of ethics are highly important. There are some differences across healthcare professionals’ perspectives of privacy. Some of them protect patient information as one of the professional ethical principles while others think of it as it is central in their occupational work (Anthony & Stablein, 2016). Healthcare professionals may change their practices to adapt new policies and technologies in healthcare settings in order to control patient information. Implications of changes in healthcare practice can clarify how information can be controlled and how privacy can be kept. It is recommended to explore this aspect in future studies.

Findings of the second article; health inequality suggest that unexplained healthcare inequalities are not ethically acceptable. It is important to implement strong policies and laws that promote population health and fight healthcare inequities and inequalities. Good understanding of code of ethics and patients’ rights can help healthcare administrators to improve ethical decision making of healthcare inequities and to deliver equal healthcare services to all (Flite & Harman, 2013). Recommendations of this study is to do further analysis of healthcare inequities, assess proper treatment plans, effective solutions and better understanding of ethical judgment.

Findings of the third study; supporting patient autonomy showed that diverse healthcare practices can affect the patients’ autonomy and self-evaluations (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010). The role of healthcare administrators here is to emphasize professional communication of healthcare providers which support patients’ autonomy. Social relationships are highly important to patients’ autonomy. So, healthcare administrators need to ensure that healthcare providers know the importance of constructive interactions with patients (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010). Patients should be offered options and choices about their healthcare interventions (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010). It is recommended to assess the balance between allowing and permitting patients to make their healthcare decisions (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010).

The three studies showed similarities in importance of patients’ rights and professional code of ethics. Awareness and well understanding of patients’ rights can guide healthcare administrators to take the appropriate ethical decisions. Findings from all three studies indicate that patient should receive safe and equal healthcare services, promote their health, respect their decisions and carefully control their information. Healthcare administrators’ work will be supported well if they follow the professional code of ethics (Flite & Harman, 2013). They can easily monitor and evaluate the quality of healthcare services provided. Also, they can encourage positive and effective communication between healthcare providers and patients. This can strengthen the relationships between patients and healthcare providers and promote their autonomy which will result in patient satisfaction and high quality services (Entwistle, Carter, Cribb & McCaffery, 2010). Healthcare administrators need to pay attention to the security of heath information system. They should be trained to use healthcare technologies in safe manners. Also, they need to comply to legal regulations and standards.

Conclusion

Healthcare administrators must adapt standards and regulations in healthcare that will promote safe and equal healthcare practices. Healthcare administration standards involve ethical standards such as privacy, equity and autonomy. These ethical standards were explained and summarized from three studies. Findings of these studies agreed about the importance of patients’ rights and professional code of ethics. Challenges and problems that could occur can be solved by using administrative skills and effective decision making based on professional code of ethics (Flite & Harman, 2013). Awareness of patients’ rights and code of ethics will guide and support healthcare administrators to take proper ethical decisions.

References

Anthony, D. L., & Stablein, T. (2016). Privacy in practice: professional discourse about

information control in health care. Journal of health organization and management,

30(2), 207-226.

Asada, Y., Hurley, J., Norheim, O. F., & Johri, M. (2015). Unexplained health inequality–is it

unfair?. International journal for equity in health, 14(1), 11.

Chalmers, J., & Muir, R. (2003). Patient privacy and confidentiality: the debate goes on;

the issues are complex, but a consensus is emerging. (Editorials). British Medical

Journal, 326(7392), 725-727.

Entwistle, V. A., Carter, S. M., Cribb, A., & McCaffery, K. (2010). Supporting patient autonomy: the importance of clinician-patient relationships. Journal of general internal medicine, 25(7), 741-745.

Flite, C., & Harman, L. B. (2013). Code of ethics: principles for ethical leadership. Perspectives

in health information management, 1-11.

Harris, M. D. (2015). Handbook of home health care administration. (6th ed.). Burlington: Jones

& Bartlett Publishers.

Langheinrich, M. (2001). Privacy by design—principles of privacy-aware ubiquitous

systems. In International conference on Ubiquitous Computing, 273-291.

Marini, M. (2015). Privacy in Archive Health Records. Health Science Journal, 9(3), 1-6.

Pinto, A. D., Manson, H., Pauly, B., Thanos, J., Parks, A., & Cox, A. (2012). Equity in public

health standards: a qualitative document analysis of policies from two Canadian

provinces. International journal for equity in health, 11(1), 28.

Zakari, N. M., Al Khamis, N. I., & Hamadi, H. Y. (2010). Conflict and professionalism:

perceptions among nurses in Saudi Arabia. International nursing review, 57(3), 297-304.