Health Care Ethics

Health Care Ethics

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Health Care Ethics

Healthcare ethics can be termed as a branch of ethics that looks into ethical issues related to medicine, science, health, and healthcare. The United States has explored several proposals for opening a needle exchange program and safe injection. One of the proposals is the ''Safe consumption site'' whereby users legally use opioids and other drugs purchased legally though under medical supervision. Studies have discovered that such programs have already been implemented in Europe and Vancouver BC, Canada. This implementation significantly reduces public drug use and deaths resulting from overdoses. This implementation is coherent with ‘Autonomy' which is one of the principles exhibited in health care ethics.

This principle argues in the sense whereby the patient has the right to retain control over their body. Patients have the right to make decisions whether they are a positive or negative benefit to them. Any attempt to lure the patient into making choices is considered a violation of this principle. Non-maleficence is also applicable in that as much as medical practitioners have no choice in the decisions made by an individual, cases of harming other people due to the decision of a patient can be excluded.

The opening of needle exchange programs and safe injection proposals have also been exhibited in Europe and Canada. The syringe service programs in these countries clean syringes for those people using opioids to have infections like HIV/Aids and other related viruses. Safe injections are also made possible whereby patients are provided with clean needles that are sanitized and free from infections. This proposal widely relates to ‘Beneficence' as a principle of health care ethics. This principle says that providers of health care must at any cost do whatever they can to benefit patients in every situation. All treatments and procedures undertaken must be intended to benefit the patient. (Strader 2004)

The principle of ‘Justice' is also vital in this proposal in that medical practitioners to be fair and just when going through these procedures that are intended to benefit the patient at large.

Reference

Strader, D. B., Wright, T., Thomas, D. L., & Seeff, L. B. (2004). Diagnosis, management,         and treatment of hepatitis C. Hepatology, 39(4), 1147-1171.