Explain the statement, “Healthcare practitioners often find it more difficult to withdraw treatment after it has started than to withhold treatment.”
Healthcare practitioners
References (at least 1) Minimum 150 to 200 words. Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to real-world applications from your work experience. I expect your message to reflect critical thought and an integration of the key themes and concepts from the readings.
| 1. Explain the statement, “Healthcare practitioners often find it more difficult to withdraw treatment after it has started than to withhold treatment.” |
| What attributes do you think a guardian ad litem should possess? | |
| Describe a situation in which passive euthanasia might be acceptable. |
2. Summanry: Careful distinctions must be made between the donation of renewable and nonrenewable parts, as well as between those that come in pairs and those that do not. The living donor may not donate a nonrenewable, nonpaired part because except in rare cases, this is equivalent to unjustified suicide. Other donations may be made for a proportionate reason. There is no obligation to donate organs inter vivos, but cadaver donation should be seen as an ideal to be encouraged. It is desirable that organs be donated rather than sold, but selling cannot be condemned out of hand.
Would-be recipients of organs should be on their guard against blackmailing or coercing donors. The recipient should look at all the factors when deciding whether to ask for or consent to a transplant.
Proper consent that respects the will of the donor and the feelings of families is essential even in cadaver organ donations. Legal schemes for increasing the supply of organs that disregard the feelings of families or are disguised forms of manipulation should be avoided.
Distribution by publicity may be tolerated, because it provides some overall educational benefits for society, as well as individuals. In the long run, a medical indications policy needs to be developed and enforced within the limits of the rights of citizens. Until society specifies that transplants are part of the minimum human and adequate medical treatment to which all have a right, economic factors must still be considered. Membership factors may also be valid factors in distribution.
Case Study: Robert Bean, age 25, has lost 80 percent of his kidney function due to diabetes, which has also left him blind and with severe neuropathy in his legs and feet. His general condition is deteriorating so rapidly that he probably has no more than a year to live. Robert’s father wants to donate his kidney, if he is compatible. Dialysis is not an option in the mind of the father, as he feels that Robert could not take it psychologically. The family has a history of both diabetes and liver problems. The transplant will help with the kidney problem, but will not reverse or stop the progression of the other effects of the diabetes.
Is either dialysis or a transplant medically indicated? Is the father’s belief about his son’s ability to endure dialysis relevant? Should Robert be consulted? Is the father ethical in donating his kidney in view of his family history? Do the ethics of allocation favor or militate against a transplant in this case?
References:
Garrett, T. M., Baillie, H. W., & Garrett, R. M. (2009). Health care ethics: Principles and problems (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3. The readings for Chapter 11 provide an overview of the ethical issues associated with screening and testing, including cost and consent. Using the readings, describe how this issue creates ethical challenges for health care managers.
References:
Healthcare practitioners