Ethics in health care

Ethics in Health Care

Today, with the advances in technology and the improvements in health care provision for needy patients, the entire health care system is facing tough challenges on the issue of ethics, in all aspects of the patient's health care. In other words, hospitals are today facing issues related to the social and economic and legal aspects of health care, and they must therefore uphold their ethical principles while at the same time keeping up with smart business practices in the highly competitive markets of today. They must make decisions about where to allocate their limited resources; about how to allocate essential services when there is a lack of sufficient reimbursement, and also on how to contain costs while at the same time increasing productivity. (Helping Hospitals address Hospital Dilemmas)

It must be noted therefore that doctors today are facing ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, as well, and more often than not, it involves the issue of whether or not to continue treatment for a patient who has absolutely no chances or hopes of recovery. The British medical Association has published a set of guidelines in the hope that nurses, Doctors, and other health care professionals would be able to make better decisions on how to face ethical dilemmas, like for example, trying out experimental drugs on children, withdrawing food and water for patients, and so on. The Court does interfere at times, and passes rulings on such dilemmas. (Health, Doctors face Ethical Dilemmas) Another aspect of health care wherein ethical issues are rampant and insolvable is the experiments that are conducted on leftover IVF embryos, wherein it is obvious to everyone involved that the use of human embryos for the purpose of research is definitely better than using mouse embryos. (Paul, 2001)

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University had its meeting on the topic, 'California Cloning, a dialogue on State Regulation', in October 2001, and experts from the diverse fields of science, law, research, and ethics came together to discuss the implications of stem cell research on ethics. There was reference to the ban on conducting stem cell research for the non-profit sector, and also on a ban on the fetal cell research being conducted all over the world. (The ethics of human cloning and human stem cell research) In a letter written by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, to all the people, he states that the birth of a baby must be celebrated as joyful news, and in today's world, there is an increasing threat to human life through scientific and technological progress. Even medical professionals are today willing to carry out heinous acts against life as such, and they are even making legislation that would effectively legalize these attempts, and this must be prevented at once. (Evangelium Vitae, encyclical letter on the value and the inviolability of Human Life)