Ethics of healthcare

The ethical and/or moral premises of healthcare are complex and intricate. To consolidate such a large segment of moral philosophy, it becomes important to focus on what separates healthcare ethics from other forms of morality. And on the whole, it can be said that healthcare itself is a "special" institution within society.^[2]With that said, healthcare ought to "be treated differently from other social goods" in a society.^[3]It is an institution of which we are all a part whether we like it or not. At some point in every person's life, a decision has to be made regarding one's healthcare. Can he/she afford it? Does he/she deserve it? Does he/she need it? Where should he/she go to get it? Does he/she even want it? And it is this last question which poses the biggest dilemma facing a person. After weighing all of the costs and benefits of her healthcare situation, the person has to decide if the costs of healthcare outweigh the benefits. More than basic economic issues are at stake in this conundrum. In fact, a person must decide whether or not his/her life is ending or if it is worth salvaging. Of course, in instances where the patient is unable to decide due to medical complications, like acoma, then the decision must come from elsewhere. And defining that "elsewhere" has proven to be a very difficult endeavor in healthcare philosophy.

Medical ethics

Further information: Medical ethics

Whereas bioethicstends to deal with more broadly-based issues like the consecrated nature of the human body and the roles of science and technology in healthcare, medical ethics is specifically focused on applying ethical principles to the field ofmedicine. Medical ethics has its roots in the writings ofHippocrates, and the practice of medicine was often used as an example in ethical discussions byPlatoandAristotle.^[4]As a systematic field, however, it is a large and relatively new area of study in ethics. One of the major premises of medical ethics surrounds "the development of valuational measures of outcomes of health care treatments and programs; these outcome measures are designed to guide health policy and so must be able to be applied to substantial numbers of people, including across or even between whole societies."^[5]Terms likebeneficenceandnon-maleficenceare vital to the overall understanding of medical ethics. Therefore, it becomes important to acquire a basic grasp of the varying dynamics that go into a doctor-patient relationship.

Nursing ethics

Further information: Nursing ethics

Like medical ethics, nursing ethics is very narrow in its focus, especially when compared to the expansive field of bioethics. For the most part, "nursing ethics can be defined as having a two-pronged meaning," whereby it is "the examination of all kinds of ethical and bioethical issues from the perspective of nursing theory and practice."^[6]This definition, although quite vague, centers on the practical and theoretical approaches to nursing. TheAmerican Nurses Association(ANA) endorses an ethical code that emphasizes "values" and "evaluative judgments" in all areas of the nursing profession.^[7]And since moral issues are extremely prevalent throughout nursing, it is important to be able to recognize and critically respond to situations that warrant and/or necessitate an ethical decision.