Medical Ethics in Healthcare

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Medical Ethics and Healthcare Access Outline

Name: Cherokee Robinson

Course Title: Medical Ethics

Course Number: PHIL434

Professor’s Name: D’Ascoli

Date: 09/19/2021

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Medical Ethics and Healthcare Access Outline

Topic: Medical Ethics and Healthcare Access

I. Introduction

Ethics make the foundation of healthcare delivery, thus making the connection

between patients and healthcare professionals to be satisfying. Medical ethics promote

healthcare services through respect and mutual understanding (Haddad & Geiger, 2018). All

individuals are entitled to medical care but there are issues such as inequalities, low income,

lack of adequate technologies, and other resources that may hinder access to healthcare.

II. Body Paragraph 1 - Technical aspects of your topic

a) Topic Sentence: There has been an increase in the adoption of technology, which

has influenced healthcare access and safety of patient information.

i. The availability of big data makes it difficult to isolate patient information,

especially when checking the health outcomes of a large population (Brall

et al., 2019).

ii. Patients now have digital platforms for monitoring their health and filling

their health progress which is strengthening healthcare delivery.

iii. Patient data may be used for health programs without their consent, which

is unethical (McBride et al., 2018).

III. Body Paragraph 2 - Description of public policy debates surrounding your topic

a. Transition: Indeed,

b. Topic sentence: Bioethics and public policies are all dependent on what governments

do or do not do concerning legal healthcare requirements (Pratt et al., 2017).

i. Government agencies work with the pharmaceutical sector to protect the public

from harm from new products (Kakkar, 2021).

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ii. The use of life-sustaining measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

should be used with the patient's consent (Pratt et al., 2017).

iii. Increased issuing of medical insurance will reduce the medical expenses that are a

major problem to many people, limiting their access to healthcare (Pratt et al.,

2017).

IV. Body Paragraph 3

a. Transition: Similarly,

b. Topic sentence: Ethical principles provide guidance on the practices of health

workers and their interaction with patients.

i. Healthcare workers have to show compassion to patients and make sure that

their attitudes towards patients are respectful (Haddad & Geiger, 2018).

ii. Even in difficult situations, nursing professionals have to maintain transparent

communication with the patient and their family (Haddad & Geiger, 2018).

iii. With ethical principles, nurses are good decision-makers and problem-solvers

since they are faced with ethical issues daily (Haddad & Geiger, 2018).

V. Body Paragraph 4

a. Transition: However,

b. Topic sentence: Ethical principles do not always provide a smooth delivery for

healthcare as there are ethical dilemmas and moral distress that make it challenging

for nurses to fulfil their moral obligations (Morley et al., 2019).

i. Some issues like resource avocation may hinder a nurse from doing what is

needed by the patient (Giannetta et al., 2021).

ii. Nurses have their beliefs and opinions, but have to always go by what the law

expects of them even when they feel it is not right (Morley et al., 2019).

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iii. Technology also limits the capacity of nurses to observe ethical principles

such as privacy (Giannetta et al., 2021).

VI. Opinion and Conclusion

Transition: In conclusion.

Statement of Opinion: Technology has contributed to increased access to healthcare

but has brought about some ethical issues that need to be solved by making ethical

considerations to protect the patients.

VII. References

Brall, C., Schröder-Bäck, P., & Maeckelberghe, E. (2019). Ethical aspects of digital health

from a justice point of view. European Journal of Public Health, 29(Supplement_3),

18-22. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckz167

Giannetta, N., Villa, G., Pennestrì, F., Sala, R., Mordacci, R., & Manara, D. F. (2021). Ethical

Problems and Moral Distress in Primary Care: A Scoping Review. International

Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), 7565.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147565

Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2018). Nursing ethical considerations. In: StatPearls

[Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

Kakkar, A. K. (2021). Pharmaceutical price regulation and its impact on drug innovation:

Mitigating the trade-offs. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents, 31(3).

https://doi.org/10.1080/13543776.2021.1876029

McBride, S., Tietze, M., Robichaux, C., Stokes, L., & Weber, E. (2018). Identifying and

addressing ethical issues with the use of electronic health records. Online Journal on

Issues in Nursing, 23(1). https://www.doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man05

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Morley, G., Ives, J., & Bradbury-Jones, C. (2019). Moral distress and austerity: An avoidable

ethical challenge in healthcare. Health Care Analysis, 27(3), 185-201.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10728-019-00376-8

Pratt, B., Paul, A., Hyder, A. A., & Ali, J. (2017). Ethics of health policy and systems

research: a scoping review of the literature. Health Policy and Planning, 32(6), 890-

910. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx003