The modern healthcare sector is one of the most important aspects that might guarantee societys survival and further evolution. For this reason, it is given such great attention. Besides, the nature of this sector presupposes the close cooperation with patients who should be provided with care and other services to guarantee their recovery. Thus, any cooperation between individuals presupposes the appearance of numerous ethical concerns that could either improve or worsen the situation. In this regard, the consideration of these issues is crucial for a health worker who wants to help a patient to recover. However, the current model of care delivery accepted in the USA creates the basis for the appearance of numerous ethical problems that should be solved.
First of all, there are numerous attempts to improve the situation in the US healthcare sector and assure that all people living in the state will be able to obtain care and the needed treatment. Besides, ObamaCare was one of these attempts. It was designed as a new approach to care delivery according to which medical services should become more affordable, and people would be able to improve the quality of their lives significantly. However, the premature character of crucial alterations in the healthcare sector resulted in the appearance of numerous ethical concerns health workers had to face every day. Trumps attempts to alter Obamacare have not resulted in significant improvement of the issue, and these problems are still topical.
For instance, ObamaCare includes the programs according to which a practice of bundled payments is introduced (Hsieh, 2014). It means that hospitals receive a certain sum for treating a certain disease. In case the limit is exceeded, a unit should compensate for the difference; thus, when the treatment cost is lower than the bundle, the excess could be kept (Hsieh, 2014). The given practice creates the ground for certain speculation. Medical workers might be seduced to make an unethical decision and provide less care than it is needed to obtain this sum. The given situation is extremely dangerous as it results in undertreatment and deteriorates the final outcomes (Haislmaier, 2013).
Therefore, there is another ethical concern that results from the implementation of ObamaCare. It states that in case a patient is dissatisfied with his/her doctor, he/she has the right to replace it with another specialist. Being aimed at the improvement of patients satisfaction, the practice results in numerous problems. First of all, the relations between a specialist and a patient are deteriorated because of the lack of trust between them (Hsieh, 2014). In case a certain complex decision should be accepted, a patient might feel dissatisfied with a specialist and ask for another one. Moreover, a therapist might also act in a less efficient way to satisfy patients subjective needs.
Altogether, the current model of care delivery is not perfect, and there are several aspects that should be improved as they create the basis for the appearance of numerous ethical concerns. First, the alteration in financing and the practice of bundles might result in undertreatment of patients, and health workers desire to accumulate costs. Moreover, the ability to change a specialist in case some subjective requirements are not met deteriorates relations between a patient and a therapist and results in the decreased efficiency of treatment. For this reason, there are still several concerns that should be touched upon to improve the situation in the healthcare sector.
References
Haislmaier, E. (2013). ObamaCare creates moral dilemma.
Hsieh, P. (2014, January 28). How ObamaCare creates ethical conflicts for physicians and how patients can protect themselves. Forbes.