Ethics Committees and the Ethical Decision-Making Processes in the U.S. Health Care System [WLO: 3] [CLOs: 1, 2, 7]
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,
- Read Chapters 3, 9, and 17 in your textbook.
- Read the following:
- How the Four Principles of Health Care Ethics Improve Patient CareLinks to an external site.
- Baby Boomers and Beds: A Demographic Challenges for the Ages
- Watch the video Tarik Sammour: Healthcare: Is It a Right or a Luxury?Links to an external site.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the baby boomer generation (individuals born between 1947 and 1964) is a growing percentage of those seeking health care. A monumental problem for long-term care, hospital, renal care, and home health care administrators will be the allocation of resources for the aging population in the U.S. health care delivery system.
You are the long-term care administrator for Shady Valley, a long-term care, 80 bed, skilled care facility. You and your team—director of nursing, assistant director of nursing, social worker, admissions director, and the business office manager—have the resources and bed space to admit one additional patient. Today the admissions director received three referrals from a local hospital. It is your teams’ job to examine the three referrals and write a recommendation for admission. The recommendation will be sent to the Shady Valley long-term care ethics committee prior to making the admissions decision. (See the following description of the patients.)
Patient 1: Mary Jones is a retired 65-year-old elementary school teacher. Mary recently fell and broke her hip while shoveling snow at her home. Prior to the accident, she was very independent and did not need help with her activities of daily living (ADLs). She is currently taking one blood pressure medication, one blood thinner medication, and one cholesterol medication. Mary suffered a very mild stroke (TIA) 2 years ago, yet she has not experienced any long-term symptoms from the stroke or a reduction in her ADLs. Recently, Mary received hip surgery and is ready for discharge to a long-term care/skilled care facility to receive physical therapy and then return home. Mary has Medicare as her primary payor source and Blue Cross/Blue Shield as her secondary payor source.
Patient 2: Donald Smith is a retired 93-year-old coal miner. He currently lives with his son and daughter in-law. Donald enjoys his lifelong passion of bird watching and stamp collecting. He recently fell and ruptured two vertebra disks in his neck (C-6 and C-7). Donald has black lung and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from working in the coal mine industry and requires 27/7 oxygen therapy. Additionally, he had successful open-heart surgery 5 years ago and a successful hip and knee replacement surgical procedure last year. He currently takes one blood thinner medication, two high blood pressure medications, and one cholesterol medication. Donald has Medicare as a primary payor source and looks forward to returning home after 20-100 days of skilled care at Shady Valley Skilled Care Facility.
Patient 3: Jane Brown is a retired 72-year-old legal secretary. Jane was recently involved in a car accident and is currently a quadriplegic. She was recently removed from a ventilator and is breathing on her own, she does not currently need a tracheotomy; however, this could be a necessary procedure in the future. Her medication list is vast to include multiple expensive medications. Prior to the accident Jane lived with her husband of 50 years; they have six children and 12 grandchildren that all live in the area. Jane has Medicare as a primary payor source and plans to apply for Medicaid to cover her long-term care expenses.
Your initial post should be a minimum of 500 words and include the following:
- Regarding the three patients provided in the scenario, discuss which patient your team would recommend for admission to the organization’s ethics committee and why.
- Discuss what ethical factors your team implemented regarding your decision such as justice, autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence.
- Describe other factors that contributed to your teams ethical decision-making process, such as societal ethical issues, equitable access to care, diversity, equity, and inclusion, affordability, quality of care, and limited resources.
- Lastly, do you feel health care is a right or a privilege?
Support your response with at least three scholarly sources published within the last 5 years. For guidance, use the Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. resource. You may also use the Writing Center’s APA StyleLinks to an external site. resource.
