Following the investigation, the discovery that the patients who
were removed were sicker and had a poor outcome indicates that the
study has a great potential to cause undue harm. The concern for not
receiving grant money should not ethically be a reason to cause
others harm. Ethically speaking, the injury issue should be addressed
and the plan of action revisited due to the study's negative impact on
patients.
Ethics is a moral standard that looks to create the least amount of
harm. The policy is usually based on ethics, as policy helps to impose
rules or laws that cause the least harm. Ethics are moral standards
agreed upon by most in society, and policies are standards created to
enforce and manage the behaviors that may go against those ethics.
However, the policy does not always match up with ethics, as some
policies may look to decrease financial harm to an entity/business.
For instance, a doctor may call in a prescription order for a drug-
seeking patient due to drug abuse. Ethically speaking, the doctor
should do what is best regarding not enabling the patient's drug
abuse. Still, the policy allows a provider to prescribe the medication if
it is deemed medically necessary.
If individual ethics do not align with organizational policy, one may
seek assistance or employment elsewhere. The organizational policy
is intended to manage an organization and the actions of its
personnel. If the personnel does not agree with the policy due to
their own ethical beliefs, it creates conflict. This conflict is usually
resolved when individuals decide to leave an organization. For
example, a doctor who may disagree with new state legislation
concerning provider-patient confidentially because they feel that
patients' HIPPA rights are being infringed upon may leave practice or
decide to practice in a nearby state that aligns with the provider's
ethics.
References:
Bowie, M. J. (2018). Essentials of Health Information Management:
Principles and Practices (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Dean Harris. (2014). Contemporary Issues in Healthcare Law and Ethics:
Vol. Fourth edition. Health Administration Press.
