Ethical Principal in Health Care

Ethical Principal in Health Care



Ethical Principal in Health Care

Introduction

Increased intensity in the technical, pharmaceutical, and medical process added many ethical challenges for healthcare executives. Lack of ethical use in decision making regarding economical, political, and social aspects of healthcare is evidenced by the increasing number of criminal charges filed against healthcare organizations and executives (Wallach 2008). The U.S. Federal Government filed charges of fraud against WellCare Health Plans(Trevino 1992), Tenet Healthcare (U.S. Department of Justice, 2006), and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oasis Medical Clinic. According to Wallach (2008), understanding of ethics used in the provision of patient care existed, but understanding of ethics used by leaders in making healthcare business decisions was lacking. The force of the study was on what causes ethical dilemmas in healthcare. Little understanding of the phenomena of ethics usage exists.

Discussion

According to Bentz and Rehorick (2008), phenomenology was the study of consciousness and phenomena that directed one to the fullness of the experience rather than the accumulation of facts and information. Addressed in the current qualitative phenomenological study was how healthcare leaders consciously perceive and understand the phenomena of ethical decision making regarding technological development in healthcare. Ethical behavior in healthcare is under scrutiny by members of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Internal Revenue Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Justice, all of whom monitor healthcare compliance to ethics. Cases of fraudulent billing pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice under the False Claims Act of 1863 resulted in increasing penalties and strong messages sent to healthcare leaders. During fiscal year 2006, federal investigators prosecuted individuals and corporations for a gain of $2.2 billion in reclaimed fraudulent claims . Members of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that the ...