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| Ethics in Health Care |
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by Victor N. Moturi, MBA, RHIA - February 13, 2012
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Ethics in Health Care
Department of Veterans Affairs Website,
National Center for Ethics in Health Care
This is a summary from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website, National Center for Ethics in Health Care. This site provides tools health care entities can use to resolve ethical dilemmas facing their daily operations. Apparently the website is utilized to educate staff and leaders about health care ethics (VA, 2009). Their aim is to ensure their values of ethics are integrated throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Organization.
The ethics program in this website was developed as a result of challenges facing the VA Health Care Organizations (HCO). Numerous ethical dilemmas in the 21st Century’s Health Care Organizations have compelled institutions to seek for the Ethics Consultation services. However, they are faced with the challenge of evaluating the ethics consultation quality (VA, 2009). The other challenge the 21st century HCOs face is the way ethics programs are implemented. It is quite unfortunate to wait for an ethical dilemma to activate the ethics programs. This portrays the reactive nature of the ethics programs that are normally case-based. It is outrageous to realize we lack effective approaches for addressing ethics issues proactively and systematically (VA, 2009). Indeed this can compromise the quality of life and care of the patients and as well as employees.
The VA's invention to resolve the above problems is the Integrated Ethics Model for ethics in health care. This model "establishes a national, standardized, comprehensive approach that ensures ethical practices are based on both rules and values" (VA, 2009). The integrated ethics tools are practical and easy to use. They are utilized in resolving "ethical questions at the level of actions and decisions through Ethics Consultation; address ethics quality gaps at the level of systems and processes by applying a quality improvement approach in Preventive Ethics; and foster a strong ethical environment and culture through Ethical Leadership" (VA, 2009).
What should leaders do to limit the problems the ethical dilemmas pose to the HCOs? Should they wait until a crisis occurs to address the ethical problems? The Department of Veteran Affairs reveals that “leaders strongly influence the ethical environment and culture of health care organizations, which in turn strongly influence employee behavior” (VA, 2009). This website provides Health Care Organization leaders with practical tools and training to enable them develop a good work environment for the employees. The training in Ethics Leadership as part of the Integrated Ethics Model encompasses the following points: (a) Demonstrate that ethics is a priority; (b) communicate clear expectations for ethical practice; (c) practice ethical decision making; and (d) support your local ethics program (VA, 2009).
I like the slogan “do it right the first time” especially in the quality of patient care. Training of the HCO leaders on how to influence an ethical environment and culture will enhance the quality of life and care the patient receive. It is my expectation that the Department of Veterans Affairs Ethics training practical tools will contribute towards the reduction of medical errors in the U.S Health Care Industry.
Work Cited
United States Department of Veteran Affairs. (2009). Integrated Ethics Program.
Retrieved from http://www.ethics.va.gov/integratedethics/ on September 14, 2010
Victor is a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) since 2009. He has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Health Care Administration Concentration and a Bachelor of Science in Health Services and Health Information Management.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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