During this virtual assignment, we will explore the dilemma prompted by Dr. Harris’s conduct as he tries to manage Maria’s advanced diabetes, who is currently under his care in a remote health center. The depth of ethical challenge stems from the need to feel the irreplaceable human element, the telemedicine services, and the fearful efforts of Dr. Harris to provide her with all that is needed for the highest standard care. As such, tension is intensified, as there is little facilities where they would access specialized diabetes care in their rural environment, making up a touching story of patients’ autonomy and healthcare providers’ promise to do good for their patients in modern medical practice and technological advancement in medicine provided.
Analysis Using Ethical Decision-Making Model
In the ethical case of Dr. Harris, moral reality starts with self-awareness. Dr. Harris’s mind is occupied by the dilemma of respecting Maria in her health matters without failing the healthcare principle of beneficence. Such ethical complexity posed by the shortage of advanced care in these remote places reaffirms the role of telemedicine, the major alternative. By analyzing telemedicine’s role in lessening access to healthcare, which is evident by Barbosa et al.’s (2021) research, we can better understand how people are affected by it. Dr. Harris wants to implement telehealth options to remove Maria’s distance-related difficulties in today’s healthcare and make telehealth seem like a vital tool to close the frontier in geographies in access to healthcare.Considering the stage of moral judgment, Dr. Harris illuminates the overall repercussions that may govern healthcare equity and reform by applying the principles of Warner et al. (2020). Through its depiction, the physical, emotional, and mental turmoil that Maria goes through in the process of staying healthy in America and the systemic and structural barriers she faces in acquiring the healthcare services she needs are realized. Having a deeper understanding of Tzenio’s (2019) article, Dr. Harris comes to the influence of multiple elements that prevent Maria from availing care, such as geographical isolation and social determinants. In addition to the cultural competence point of emphasis by the Nair and Adetayo (2019) authors, it also informs on Dr. Harris’s care, allowing him to pay attention to Maria’s grounds and concerns relating to telemedicine. The last stage of moral judgment is putting the abstract ethical principles against the practical realities of Maria’s situation. This emphasizes the importance of having a healthcare delivery model that is responsive to the unique circumstances of the individual patients and just in its equality.
In light of the ethical challenges presented by the situation, Dr. Harris demonstrates ethical behavior by being an effectively helpful and empathetic participant in the narrative through his active partnership with Maria. He opens up for a detailed and considered talk with her to see if she has any concerns about telemedicine. By helping her to understand the actual information and clearing up her concerns, Dr. Harris will change her point of view on digital healthcare solutions. It follows the rule of beneficence that Dr. Harris attempts to get Maria the best treatment limited in rural health care resources. This way, the doctor shows how healthcare providers must manage complex ethical issues by focusing on patient-prioritized care, patient consent, and the judicious use of technology to improve access and quality of healthcare facilities.
Solution and Ethical Principles
Dr. Harris outlines a multifaceted approach to Maria’s case through a mix of tele-consultations with a consultant familiar with rural populations and periodic face-to-face visits. This newfangled approach is creatively prepared to be based upon the principle of autonomy, in which Maria is generally included in every stage of the decision-making process, presumably so that her values and preferences are upheld. “Beneficence” is followed simultaneously as it guarantees Maria’s compliance with the necessary medical service to meet her vital care needs, focusing on the peculiarity of remoteness that is the main feature of her health care. Respecting Maria’s concerns about telemedicine, Dr. Harris takes good measures to give her choices and fully inform her about all options. It is a step to ensure that the doctor is not imposing any unnecessary harm. The comprehensive method Dr. Harris suggests combines a balanced, patient-oriented approach. Through this approach, Maria’s experience is remodeling for people with similar issues in rural areas
Effectiveness of Communication and Approach
Aspects of the approach to the ethical issue with Maria seen in Dr. Harris highlight the key role of quality communication in healthcare, as in the case of telemedicine introduction to patients. Through an open and empathic dialogue, Dr. Harris not only resolves the problem in front of him but primarily develops a relationship of trust, which, in the long run, becomes an important factor in the patient’s compliance and satisfaction. This method works great as a stepping stone for proving the worries around telemedicine are false claims since the benefits of telehealth cannot be denied either. Nonetheless, the impact could be more emphasized by partnering patient information sessions with structured formats. As such, this information would be a solid starting point for the demystification of telemedicine; chairs will be filled with simple explanations of how telemedicine operates, its benefits to be implemented, and the privacy and security measures to be built in. Telemedicine as a healthcare tool will succeed, whereby healthcare providers will impart knowledge to patients about telemedicine, thus creating awareness and comprehension of telemedicine. Furthermore, patients in remote or underserved areas who are skeptical or reluctant to embrace digital healthcare alternatives will now be willing and confident after being enlightened.
Conclusion
This study shows the ethical dilemmas that exist in healthcare. Utilizing an ethical decision-making model efficiently, Dr. Harris devised the best solution to the dilemma. Comprehensive takeaways incorporate how awareness of morality enables the identification of ethical issues, the role of empathetic and well-communicated approaches in addressing the challenges, and the use of technology like telemedicine to eliminate access difficulties. This invariants brings to light a significant thing: the need for integrating ethical principles with a well-crafted communication plan to help resolve ethical dilemmas in healthcare.
References
Barbosa, W., Zhou, K., Waddell, E., Myers, T., & Dorsey, E. R. (2021). Improving access to care: telemedicine across medical domains. Annual review of public health, 42, 463-481. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090519-093711
Nair, L., & Adetayo, O. A. (2019). Cultural competence and ethnic diversity in healthcare. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1097%2FGOX.0000000000002219
Tzenios, N. (2019). The Determinants of Access to Healthcare: A Review of Individual, Structural, and Systemic Factors. Journal of Humanities and Applied Science Research, 2(1), 1-14. https://journals.sagescience.org/index.php/JHASR/article/view/23
Warner, J. J., Benjamin, I. J., Churchwell, K., Firestone, G., Gardner, T. J., Johnson, J. C., … & American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee. (2020). Advancing healthcare reform: the American Heart Association’s 2020 statement of principles for adequate, accessible, and affordable health care: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 141(10), e601-e614. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000759
write