Whether you’re running a small private healthcare practice, or you manage a large hospital or medical facility, ethics are a paramount priority for you. Because you operate within the field of medicine, you’re automatically bound by strict regulations and requirements for safe, effective, and ethical operations. But you’re also aware of more common ethics risks that may plague your organization, too. It can be challenging to keep up with the digital aspects of healthcare today and the emerging risks that seem to present every day. However, as you assess your current ethics policies and procedures, you can always do so through a lens of returning to the basics.

Start by considering all the clinical ethics your organization is expected to observe in serving patients. Then, consider non-clinical ethical risks that may require additional attention. And as you make changes to improve your guidelines for ethical behaviors, consider the ethics hotline as a great first-line defense in safeguarding clinical and non-clinical ethics violations.

Beneficence

This first ethics standard involves the obligation of a physician or doctor to act in the best interests of the patient, defending rights, preventing harm, and promoting healthy welfare.

Nonmaleficence

This standard is the obligation of any medical practitioner to not harm the patient, which includes pain, suffering, incapacity, causing offense, or deprivation of any kind.

Autonomy

Autonomy is an ethics philosophy that applies to both the patient and the provider. It’s a principle that empowers the individual to have the capacity to make rational decisions, exercise individual discretion, and an understanding of self-determination.

Informed Consent

Informed consent is a clinical ethics principle that a patient must be competent to determine, receive full disclosure, act voluntarily, and consent to the proposed procedure in question.

Truth-Telling

This concept describes the obligation a provider has to be honest with the patient, in full disclosure and transparency.

Confidentiality

Today’s healthcare providers have to be keenly mindful of confidentiality, observing the obligation to not disclose any personally identifying or healthcare-related information about a patient to any third party without prior authorization.

Justice

Justice in healthcare refers to the fair, appropriate, and equitable distribution of healthcare resources to all patients.

Other Non-Clinical Ethics Considerations

In addition to the clinical ethics considerations, your healthcare organization also needs to assess and improve other ethical risks. With business segments and other non-clinical personnel, in addition to the medical staff, these ethical risks can prove to be determinantal to operations and providing necessary patient care.

· Discrimination

· Workplace Safety

· Harassment

· Theft

· Favoritism

Ethics Hotlines as Your First Line of Ethics Risk Defense

Of all your ethics enforcement measures, including ethics training and policies, an ethics hotline continues to be a great line of defense. Because ethics hotlines provide an anonymous outlet for reporting from anyone, patients, vendors, and staff included, it becomes a viable reporting channel. Learn of any potential risks or violations before they become detrimental or catastrophic.

Let Ethical Advocate be your guide in keeping up with the ever-changing healthcare ethics landscape. And we can help you establish your ethics hotline for the best results.