Ethical and Legal Considerations of Healthcare - Milestone Two

Milestone Two Ethical Components of the Malpractice Case An ethical issue is defined as “an issue that accrues when choices need to be made, the answers may not be clear, and the options are not ideal. The result could be declined in the quality of patient care, problematic clinical relationships, and moral distress which is defined as knowing you think the right thing to do but not being allowed or able to do it” (Hayward, 2021). To evaluate ethical problems, you must consider the action and the impact the action will have on everyone involved. It is important to have critical thinking skills as a healthcare professional. In the case of Iturralde v. Hilo Medical Center, Dr. Ricketson was hired and given the job to properly tend to his patients, and was privileged to do so by the HMC. Although we know Dr. Ricketson had a prior past of lapses in the medical field, HMC either disregarded these red flags, or hired him and ignored these red flags from three other states. According to Fremgen, “three months prior to performing Mr. Iturralde’s surgery, the state of Hawaii put Dr. Ricketson on probation” (Fremgen, 2021). With the choice that this hospital chose to make disregarding all other problems in the past, Dr. Ricketson is most definitely linked to the cause of the malpractice case and the all of the events that led up to the death of the patient. This is said because during the surgery of Mr. Iturralde, Dr. Ricketson made the decision to use a screwdriver that was not intended or approved for any human interaction to fix a surgical issue. Fremgen goes to say that there are teleological and deontological theories. Teleological theories are “concerned with the consequences of actions which means the basic standards for our actions being morally right or wrong” and deontological theories determine how we act regardless of the consequences (Fremgen, 2021). This would mean that the same standards for the decisions, and actions remained the same when the same circumstances, knowledge, and the appropriate decision for the patient are made. The screwdriver would have never been implanted if Dr. Ricketson was performing within his knowledgeable duty. The decision making model that provides a safe, quality healthcare experience for the patient would be Dr. Bernard Lo’s clinical model. “This model not only allows and encourages the providers to ensure the patient has a voice in their health care decisions, and it also encourages all providers who have direct care to be involved in the decision as well” (Fremgen, 2021). This requires the patient and all of the healthcare staff involved in the procedures to discuss their expectations. Since Mr. Iturralde was unable to understand and speak fluent English, he should have been provided by the hospital, in an interpreter to explain the proprocedures and relay the outcome of the post-procedures. By law someone with the ability to make the decision in regards to Mr. Iturralde of the implant, should have been identified before the surgery was started. The guidelines that would work hand in hand with Dr. Bernard Lo’s decision making process would be autonomy, non malfeasance, and justice. Autonomy is expressed as the right for adults to make informed decisions about their own medical care. This would result in the patient being aware of the consequences of deciding against the procedure. Non malfeasance is expressed as not to inflict any harm on others. This means the patient would not have received a screwdriver in place of a medical graded device to finish his procedure. Lastly, justice is expressed as fairness to individuals in certain populations. Quality healthcare does not depend on the patients education, abilities, impairment, or socio-economic status. Communication is extremely important when trying to create and maintain a physician patient relationship before constructing surgery. By creating this professional bond, this will assure that healthcare providers will give patients the best chance at maintaining good health. A professional relationship between the medical specialist and a patient is significantly important. This creates non malfeasance by opening communication between the primary care physician, the patient, and the surgeon before treatments.