PH 447 assignment 7A AND 7B

Assignment 7A

Now that you have read, reflected and analyzed various ethical and moral issues in health I've selected a case studiy that I want you to respond to.

The first is a Frontline edition of a program titled Dollars and Dentists aired on June 26, 2012.  

The program was a documentary developed by the Center for Public Integrity and hosted by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).  The program presents an overview about the poor condition of oral health in this country and some of the issues associated with a broken health care system.  Specifically the program discusses the high cost of dental care, the lack of insurance to cover oral health issues, and how these costs leave many people unable to afford dental care services.  It aslo calls into question the way corporate America has responded  to fill this need.   Several business models have emerged with big corporate backing. 

While viewing the video you should be able to recognize a number of ethical and moral issues that arise related to access to health care, quality of care, and financial exploitation of disparate populations.

After watching the video, respond to the following: 

For this assignment there are five perspectives I would like you to consider.  Write 1-2 paragraphs from the perspective of each of the groups mentioned below. For each of the 5 factions that make up this video, I want you to write 1-2 paragraphs about the ETHICAL considerations from each perspective.

From the perspective of the health care consumer:

· What responsibilities fall on the consumers? Preventive actions, ability to pay, ability to understand and secure credit.

From the perspective of the service provider (dentists):

· How much "good will" is reasonable? What kind of financial issues are they facing? The cost of education, buying or establishing a practice, office supplies and materials, staffing, rent, insurance, etc. Should they expect to make a living off their business? Why wouldn’t they provide these desperately needed services to everyone who needs them?

From the perspective of insurance or government programs (Medicare and Medicaid):

· Should taxpayers be responsible for paying for those who can't pay? If reimbursement rates are too low for providers to offer their services, what could be done to fix the problem? If taxes needed to be raised to provide reasonable reimbursement to dentists do you think the public would be willing to pay more in taxes? If not, who should pay for these services?

From the perspective of corporate interests:

· Like most successful business ventures, they've identified a need and are attempting to meet that need. They're in business to make money and they're generally quite successful. So, what are they doing wrong? If anything?

From the perspective of the health care professional organization (ADA).

· What is the primary concern about equity backed business leaders operating dental offices?

· It was suggested that highly trained therapists can perform many of the common procedures at considerably less cost than most fully trained dentists.  Why is that a concern?

· Is there any conflict with the ADA’s Code of Ethics with the stance they’ve taken with regard to serving patients in need to their services? (You may need to take a look at assignment 3)

Assignment 7B

Please complete part 2 of this assignment.  These questions require you to not only reflect on the video, but also think and identify the moral and/or ethical dilemmas presented in the video.

Respond to the following questions: 

What are the key issues presented in this video? (2 paragraphs per issue minimum)

There are 5 key players identified in the video.  Each has a role in the “troubled system” the players include:

·

. The patient

. The health care provider

. The ADA professional organization

. The insurance industry (Medicaid, Medicare, & private insurance, to a lesser degree)

. Corporate business models - equity backed firms

How have the issues been expressed by each side?

Describe the behavior of the players on each side of the issue and identify the ethical dilemmas related to their situation..

What seems to be motivating this behavior? (greed, altruism, laws, policies, behavior. etc.).

Take a stand and identify any ethical concerns about their position that you find unacceptable.

What do you think the key players should have do to help resolve the dental crisis?   USE DATA  to support your position.

What would you do if you found yourself in a profession facing a similar circumstance? (consider both sides) What values do you possess to inform your choice?

What do you take away from this assignment that relates to this course?