APPLIED HEALTH ETHICS

By :

GROUP 2

INTRODUCTION Knowledge is useful if it results in a change

in behavior. Having learned the Ethical principles, the

healthcare provider is challenged to apply these principles in his daily life & act accordingly.

Main Areas of Applied Bioethics: - Free & Informed consent - Issues of the Beginning and End of Life - Helping The Suffering - Relating to other Health Care Givers

INFORMED CONSENT An ideal connected to the principles of

autonomy & respect for person.

Recognizing that every person is primarily responsible for his own body, free and informed consent introduced into patient care as an a means of protecting a patient’s personal integrity & enhancing the patient’s active role in his own care.

INFORMED CONSENT 2 Main Functions:

1. Protective - To safeguard against intrusion of integrity.

2. Participative – To be involved in medical decision making.

ELEMENTS OF INFORMED CONSENT:

Knowledge- Information disclosure by the healthcare giver. The truth of the proposed action, its nature, probable benefits, possible risks and other alternative options or all information relevant to a meaningful decision making processes must be given to the patient.

ELEMENTS OF INFORMED CONSENT: Comprehension by the subject - The information must be given in words and manner that can be easily understood by the subject. - Distorted, unfamiliar and unsuitable information, poor information processing, overload, selective perception, etc. must be avoided. It may lead the subject to accept information given without appreciating it.

ELEMENTS OF INFORMED CONSENT :

Consent - Subject competence: The subject must be able to make decisions based on rational reasons. - Subject freedom: The subject must be able to chose and act without undue pressure of time, emotional upset, confusion, persuasion, coercion, threat, deception, manipulation, fear or other forms of control by others.

INFORMED CONSENT When informed consent cannot be given

by the patient, the patient’s family or guardian or representative provides it.

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Both the Catholic Church & the

Philippine Constitution recognize the sacredness of life from the time of conception.

A child must be the fruit of the conjugal union between husband and wife.

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Caring for the pregnant patient is

unique.

Treating the mother automatically treats the child and vice versa so that when decisions are made, the health and welfare of one must be mutually balanced by the health and welfare of the other.

THE END OF LIFE Life is a gift, which as good stewards, we

have to protect and defend. But life can be sustained for only so long, ultimately the death claims us all.

Many healthcare providers have difficulties accepting death and managing the dying patient.

Every healthcare provider must learn how to face death and help his patient accept death when dying is the only option open.

THE END OF LIFE No one needs to die neglected, alone,

shunted by disease , hooked on tubes and to machines or isolated from families and loved ones.

Death with dignity, human death an d a good death must be available.

They must be assured that the patient will not be abandoned and that he is forgiven for dying. To attain these, the healthcare provider therefore must :

THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER MUST :1. Communicate compassionately, tell “ bad” news early

enough to provide time for the patient to accept it and make the best use of this most important limited time of his life.

2. Use technology prudently. Recognize the realm of the medical futility and avoid disproportionate means to maintain life at ali costs.

3. Relieve pain effectively. The dying man offers fears dying with pain. It limits freedom and independence ,causes anxiety, rejection and marginalization and often robs a person of his dignity and sense of identity.

THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER MUST : 4. Approach the patient holistically, focusing on the entire person giving physical, psychological, mental, emotional, moral and spiritual support. The healthcare provider must provide palliative or comfort care, minimize the patient’s symptoms and maximize his interaction with others. In summary, the healthcare provider must be a companion in his patient’s final journey, be in solidarity with his patient and be present to receive the gift of the dying.

SUFFERING It is inevitable. Without understanding suffering,

however the healthcare provider cannot fullfill this obligation.

Suffering is wider than physical pain or sickness, more complex, more deeply rooted in humanity itself. It is damage to the integrity of a patient’s personhood.

THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER : Must first recognize the particular

suffering of his patient and carefully listen to what the patient says.

His presence must manifest awareness of, bear witness to,& validate the suffering.

He must sit with the patient & touch him.

THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER : He must respond to it with compassion:

to alleviate whenever possible, to lend strength & support always.

He must help the patient locate it spiritually, join with his suffering; let in & awaken his love for God & fellowman.

He must help the patient make suffering meaningful & peace filled by seeing it not as a moral evil in itself, but with human & supernatural benefits when rightly used.

HEALTH PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS A healthcare professional deals not only

with his patient & his patient’s family but also with colleagues in his profession, other healthcare professionals, his professional organization & society.

He should, with colleagues both in his own profession & in the other healthcare professions, recognize that they all have a common goal : better health for everyone.

They should work as a team with responsibility, support and respect.

HEALTH PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS Mutual responsibility means each one

doing his best & helping the others do their best.

Mutual support means senior members teaching junior members, healthy members assisting impaired colleagues and repairing defects caused by them.

Mutual respect means listening to other’s suggestions, encouraging others to play their roles and acknowledging their contribution.

HEALTH PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS The healthcare professional must work

towards uplifting the standards of his profession through Continuing Medical Education program participation and self-regulation with correction of erring members.

The healthcare professional as a member of society, must work towards the creation of a safe environment, the implementation of a just healthcare program and the discovery of truth through research.

VIRTUES OF THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER The manner healthcare is delivered

often rests on the kind of person the healthcare provider is.

Virtues are acquired habits or dispositions to do what is morally right.

They are traits of character that dispose its possessor to act in accordance with moral principles, rules and ideals.