Terry Schiavo Case. Management Research Paper Assignment

Terry Schiavo Case
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Terry Schiavo Case
Introduction
In a healthcare setting, medical practitioners often encounter ethical dilemmas in the process of providing care to patients. For instance, it becomes a challenge to decide on whether to stop a specific type of treatment that does not improve patients' symptoms, although it supports their lives. As such, Terry's case is discussed herein. Terry Schindler Schiavo's died in 2005. Her death was caused by the removal of a feeding tube while in hospital. For 15 years, Terry had suffered respiratory and cardiac arrest, which had caused conflict between her husband and her parents. The argument was mainly based on Terry's preferences and the right of her husband to decide on a valid form of treatment. However, the patient's parents challenged the diagnosis of a continued vegetative state. Terry Schiavo's case was initiated 15 years after the Patient Self-Determination Act was passed. The Act was a federal order that provided patients with the right to reject or accept life-prolonging medications and the approaches to communicate their decisions when they were unable to speak for themselves.
Schiavo's case indicates that any illness condition is capable of increasing complexity, mostly when family members do not agree on the appropriate medication for the patient and when the disagreement comprises the removal of a life-supporting medicine. As a result, the paper considers the six categories of healthcare risk management, such as bioethics, risk financing, risk management operations, claims management, accreditation and regulatory compliance, and loss reduction and prevention. The category that is affected by Schiavo's case is further discussed. Furthermore, the paper discusses the type of healthcare setting that is subjected to Schiavo's case. The different types of healthcare settings include physician practices and groups, medical center or acute care hospital, multi-facility healthcare system, academic medical center, long-term care facility, integrated delivery system, and ambulatory care organization.
Bioethics as a Realm of Healthcare Management that is affected by Schiavo's Case
Preston & Kelly (2006) indicate that the political, legitimate, and social dialogue about the resolution to terminate hydration and feeding for Terry Schiavo did not have bioethics evaluation. Bioethics is a realm of healthcare management based on the principles of life quality, treatment suggestions, relative features, and patient choices. Terry's case portrayed a fault line in the approaches of bioethics. The removal of her tube was not regarded as a medication, but a cessation of medication with nutrition and hydration. According to Koch (2005), Terry was unable to detect when food was in her mouth and therefore lacked the swallowing reflex. Her inability to swallow meant that the healthcare providers could not feed her through her mouth because of the increased probability of choking to death. As a result, the tube used for feeding was the primary approach that sustained her life. Therefore, the primary medication analyzed in Terry's case is the cessation of nutrients and fluids through her feeding tube.
The central question in analyzing Terry's case was whether the medical practitioners had medically indicated the continued medication with the feeding tube. Furthermore, it is essential to question whether the type of treatment was helpful to Terry or whether the drug was harmful and burdensome to her. The primary goal of treatment is to prevent death or maintain life. Although it is not possible to prevent all deaths, medical practitioners focus on preventing inappropriate or untimely deaths. As such, failing to disconnect the feeding tube would have prevented Terry from dying, as identified in the 15 years (Preston & Kelly, 2006). The objective of sustaining life is usually distinguished, especially when the moral problem is about continuing or ending a life.
The decision to terminate or continue Terry's survival relies on factors that include opinions regarding her quality of life, patient preferences, and judgments about what would have been best for Terry. For example, would continue medication have relieved Terry from suffering and pain symptoms? Unfortunately, no, because she had instinctive impulses that could not operate above her brain's stem (Koch, 2005). Moreover, Terry did not have a cognitive awareness or function of her environment. Also, she lacked mental and physical sensations of her suffering or pain. As a result, Terry's treatment could not relieve her from suffering. Furthermore, it is essential to question whether continued treatment would have restored Terry's health, improved her functional status, or cured her illness.
The neurologists chosen by Terry's pare...