When it comes to health care ethical issues, there are almost as many ethical issues as there are health issues to be treated. There are laws in place to direct the behavior of almost every person in the health care personnel chain, from the nurse to the nurses aide who assists them and the doctor who ultimately gets to try and make the decisions to treat within the confines of the insurance system ruling over the life of the patient in question.

There are ethical issues that are clearly defined, such as the requirements for treatment decisions when a patient has a Medical Power of Attorney or a Living Will. Then there are thealth care ethical issues that don't have such clearly defined areas, such as whether it is allowable to withhold a possible lifesaving treatment from a patient only because their insurance will not pay for it.

Health care providers must make their treatment decisions based on a great many determining factors, perhaps the most constraining of which is the insurance reimbursement regime. If doctors and other health care providers could just treat their patients and have only that to worry about, what a wonderful world it would be. But doctors have to constantly worry about whether or not they and possibly the facility where they practice will be paid by the insurance companies. The next most important factor which affects health care providers ability to provide the care patients truly need is whether or not the patient has been truthful with the information they have given to the health care provider, and whether or not they have had access to health care to establish and maintain their health care needs.

Ethical concerns also come into play with patients whose family constellations are unclear. A patient who has a spouse has a straightforward next of kin when decisions have to be made. When a patient is separated from their spouse, and even perhaps has a new significant other, the next of kin can be much more difficult to determine, and protecting all health care providers-doctors, hospitals, etc from the liability risk of allowing the person who does not have a legal right to make decisions for a patient is a necessity. The health care ethical issues presented by these kinds of situations are very delicate.

One important ethical concern in health care is the need to protect oneself from the very real danger of the transmission of communicable diseases in bodily fluids. Especially in cases where a patients history is not available, health care providers have the right and the responsibility to protect themselves from viruses and bacteria that may be present in the body fluids of patients to which they are exposed taking care of these patients. However, this must be balanced with the possibility of making patients feel accused or uncomfortable by these same protective measures.

One last important health care ethical issues, especially in this day in age, is the protection of private, personally identifying information. Patients records used to be kept in public places where almost anyone could read them-filing pockets outside their doors, for instance. This kind of situation is not longer allowed, and records are more closely guarded nowadays, and many hospitals now rely on records kept entirely on computers.

Ethical issues are a part of almost every field, but health care has a special place in the system, where people are trusted with making those who are sick feel better, those who are injured able to return to their prior lives, and those who have chronic conditions and those who love them more able to cope with the demands of living with those conditions.


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There is a major concern for the elderly in this day and age. The nursing homes are over populated, and the staff is at an all time low. The elderly just don't have the care available today that they did years ago. This problem affects the health of the elderly as well. If conditions are not up to standard in these facilities, then the elderly person's health will suffer.

Another problem the elderly face today is medicare benefits. Medicare doesn't pay what it used to, and many people are forced to suffer with their health problems without always being able to seek treatment. This is a world elderly health problem. If we don't do something now to improve this situation, then things will continue to spiral out of control, leaving us in rough shape for the future. Social Security is already a concern for many people. They wonder if they will receive any benefits at all when they retire. With the cost of health care rising every year, the future looks bleak indeed.

There are some cultures who don't put their elderly parents in nursing homes, they take them into their own homes and care for them, as long as they are able to. They drive their parents to their doctor appointments and other places, thus avoiding the need for care vans or meals on wheels. If everyone did this, the world elderly health problem would not be nearly as catastrophic as it is today.

By time the baby boomers are well into retirement, there will be even more elderly people in the world, thus the problem of poor care will escalate. The prices that todays nursing homes require is nearly unaffordable. It would be cheaper for the elderly to spend a few years on a cruise ship than it would be to pay the astronomical price of an elderly facililty. This is a widely known humorous look at elderly care, but sadly, it is true. Nursing homes charge more per week than it costs to take an all-inclusive cruise. Some even joke that if you pass away while you're on the ship, they could just toss you over the side, and that's about as cheap a funeral as you can get.

It's sad to think about the future for the elderly. And if the health care costs continue to skyrocket, then the world elderly health problem won't go away anytime soon. It has become necessary for people in their midlife to start saving money for their retirement facility, rather than starting to save their money so they can go on vacation after they retire. It might be a better idea to do all your traveling while you are in good health, and worry about the nursing home after you have spent all your money.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wendy_Pan