Health Care Administration: Ethical Issues

Health Care Administration Name Institution Affiliation Abstract Mr. Chen is a client of doctor Oslo and he has been suffering from the prolapsed disc for one year. The conventional pain medication has failed and his doctor believes that the only way to solve the problem is through performing the back surgery. However, Mr. Chen thinks acupuncture is the best option because it has worked well for him in the past. The doctor is skeptical about this idea because he thinks western medical practices are more efficient. Some of the ethical issues arising from this situation include cultural sensitivity, medical need versus desire and risk evaluations. American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) code of ethics provides standards that health care leaders may use to solve some of these ethical issues. For instance, it is indicated in ACHE that patients must be allowed to make independent decisions; health care providers must respect the custom, beliefs, and practices of their clients; hospitals must provide patients with relevant information about their rights and risks associated with certain services. Keywords: Healthcare, Patient, Ethical issues, Acupuncture Health Care Administration Summary of the case This case is about a patient who is suffering from lumbar pain due to a prolapsed disc as revealed by an x-ray examination (Markkula, 2000). Mr. Chen’s doctor, Mr. Olson thinks that the only feasible remedy for the patient’s problem is back surgery since the conventional painkillers are not working. However, Mr. Chen has other ideas and thinks that his problem can be solved by Acupuncture therapy. He tells the doctor that he is not fond of the surgeries and that acupuncture therapy has helped him before. In addition, the insurance cover he is using has a clause that allows him to seek alternative medication if he desires (Markkula, 2000). Mr. Olson is reluctant to approve this idea and thinks the only option for the patient is surgery because acupuncture is a traditional Chinese practice that has not been proven to work scientifically. The doctor is also confident that back surgery will work because he has operated several other patients with success and believes he will succeed in this case too (Markkula, 2000). He does not feel obliged to recommend alternative medicine because he thinks these methods are not as effective as the approaches taught in western medical schools, which have undergone comprehensive clinical trials to determine their reliability. Ethical Issues There are several ethical issues arising from this case and they include cultural sensitivity, evaluation of risks and medical need vs. desire. Cultural sensitivity is one of the ethical issues arising from this situation. Mr. Chen has been brought up in a Chinese culture, where the Acupuncture medicine is widely practiced (Wilkinson & Faleiro, 2007). This alternative medicine is part and parcel of Chinese culture and most people from East Asia prefer this form of therapy than the western medicine. In this case, just like many other medical practitioners from the West, Dr. Olson thinks that acupuncture and other traditional medicine approaches are not effective in the treatment of various diseases and some of these therapies may end up hurting the patients. Mr. Olson thinks that the back surgery is the scientifically proven approach, which has cured several patients in the past. On the other hand, Mr. Chen believes acupuncture is the best option because it has been working well for him. Although doctor believes that back surgery is the best option for the patient because it has worked for the other individuals, he must respect Mr. Chen’s culture. The patient believes acupuncture is the best option and his insurance also allows him to seek alternative medicine if he desires. While operation could be the best option for the patient, the doctor has no moral reason to deny him a chance to see acupuncture or perform back surgery on him (Stuttaford et at., 2014). The other ethical issue arising from this case is a medical need versus desire. It is true that patient’s conditions may require an operation, but a question may arise: could acupuncture cure the disorder? In this case, the do...