discussion board 3 ethics

1. Scarce resources including money is always a part of the ethics challenges for healthcare. How can you be an ethics-based steward of healthcare resources? Use the theme of balancing mission and margin on the application of ethical theory to real-world decisions.

Money and finances will always play a role in ethical challenges for healthcare. Healthcare activities ranging to hospital admissions, hospital treatments and health surveillance cost health insurers, providers and patients immensely. To effectively use the them of balancing mission and margin on the ethical theory of real-world decisions involves closely analyzing workflows among providers and healthcare entities as well as put to use all resources that would decrease the gargantuan cost of healthcare. As an ethics-based steward, I would take in account the organization’s budget- would the budget for the current year be enough to satisfy our projected projects? The last thing to consider when balancing the the mission and ethical theory margin would be to meet financial executives, stakeholders and upper management to deliberate together and determine the financial risk. Our team would have to decide if their goal would be a great financial return on investment as well as it being an ethical health success- would we have a greater patient participation or could we see a rapid decline in patient partnership and loss of revenue. All in all, becoming an ethics-based steward would mean to create and implement projects that not only promote financial returns but exude ethical and moral attitudes.

2. As a future administrator, what kind of culture would you like to create in your institution/ department? How could you do this?

As a future administrator, I would promote organizational culture where each employee is valued. It is important to value your employees. Any failure to exercise this would result in a high turnover rate within the organization; in return the trickle down effect of neglect and hostility would encompass those who are impacted the most- the patients. When you take the time to be personable with your employees, your employees will establish a healthy professional bond. The second huge piece of morale I would create in my institution would be that employees must put the patient before themselves. There have been moments while at work I have seen RNs and CNAs interact with the patient. While some have the mentality of going above and beyond for the patient, others exhibit attitudes that place the patient second to the employees’ needs. The You-I principality must be practiced. The patients make our jobs; without them we would fail to exist. Some of the practices I have found to be useful in promoting positive cultures would be taking the time to listen, emphasize with employees. As administrators we must come to terms that our employees have separate lives outside of work. We must also understand their plight and we must do everything we can to ensure both parties succeed. It is my mission to see each employee prosper and reach their fullest potential both inside and outside of work.

3. Public health is founded on the principal of justice and social responsibility. The community becomes a patient and there is a need to balance the benefits and burdens of healthcare. How can knowledge of public health information and practices help you to be more of an ethical manager?

The knowledge of public health information aides in implementing improvements an ethical manager may need for their organization. We live in an era where healthcare organizations and facilities are rated and given reviews based on their interactions with patients. Managers and administrators use this information to compare and contrast their organizations, developing health care practices and customer service that would draw a high patient percentage as well as attract applications that would be a great fit to represent their organization. If I were to use public health information as a manager I would try to use this information as constructive criticism. Peering into the competitor’s operational practices would give me ways to brainstorm and implement the new practices into my organization. Public health information is easily accessible, therefore; it would serve as a means to improve my organization for the future ahead.

4. Draw conclusions about where we need to go in measuring the patient experience. What if your organization made the choice to be a Planetree Model facility?” Assume that budget was not an issue here. “What ethics issues would this create for staff?” Think beyond, “We have always done it this way”.

In measuring the patient experience, it is essential to understand that patients have the right to stellar quality of care. Healthcare facilities have turned away from the fee-to-service framework. Hospital and healthcare facilities share the same sentiment in that no patient should have their patient experience compromised. If my organization made the transition to be a Planetree Model facility, I would be delighted in that we would be an organization where there is personalized patient-centered care. Patient-centered care promotes effective, efficient and affordable quality of care. Putting budget issues aside, the ethics issue some staff may raise would be the increase in employees’ stress (burnout) and the high interaction rate between staff and the patients. Because this model stresses specialized patient care, employees would have to base their interaction on each patient’s specific needs. The patient experience would not be generalized. As a result of this, employees would become highly stressed and flustered remembering each patients needs. The patient-centered care yields positives for the patient but can pose an ethical issue to employees.