Did the board act ethically Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Did the board act ethically - Research Paper Example Patients demand for services of the machines are more than the hospitals capacity. As a result, decision is to be made on the patients that are to be offered services from the facilities. Some hospitals have formed boards consisting of medical personnel and members of their communities to help in deciding on the people to be offered the limited services. Though the medical condition of the patients are taken into consideration, other factors such as personal and social characteristics such as age, job, number of dependants, status of the patient’s job among others are prioritized by the boards whose common aim is to maximize the utility of the limited machinery. The boards should have an ethical decision making process. This would begin by collecting necessary information about the problem followed by definition of the problem, selecting patients for care. All the relevant stakeholders in the case would then be considered before identification of available alternatives. The board would have then weighed the merits and disadvantages of each alternative before making a decision. A suitable ethical decision would however be based on consideration of ethical principles as discussed bellow (Potts and Mandleco, p. 40). One of the ethical principles that are applicable to the case is the principle of autonomy. Autonomy refers to a person’s authority over factors around him. The ethical principle induces the concept that every individual has the power to make decisions on matters affecting him or her (Brunner et al., p. 40). Another ethical principle that is applicable to the case, the doctrine of beneficence, is defined as a person’s responsibility to do good to other members of the society. It is base on actions of individual that are expected not to cause harm to others in the society. Professional fidelity is another principle that is directly applicable