Introduction
Healthcare is one of the essential sectors around the globe, and given the technological advancement, so much has improved. Technology included, there are so many new ways in which the health care sector is changing and impacting their general outcome, as will be seen within this paper.
Business Ethics vs. Social Responsibility
Ethics refers to knowing the difference between what is right and wrong and being able to choose the right thing at all times. When it comes to business ethics, it is all about doing what is right morally and legally. Business ethics issues within the healthcare sector refer to complying with the relevant laws. In times of significant change like now, business ethics guide people to make the right choices (Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, 2021). A good example is when offering the vaccine for the novel Covid-19. The vaccination helps boost people’s immunity against the virus, and therefore, health practitioners should help push for its intake. Another aspect is when considering the proper manner to decipher the costs of the patients for quality patient care. It also does come down to the wages and salaries’ the employers give the health care workers as they have to be very fair to them and be appropriate when making decisions.
On the other hand, social responsibility calls for healthcare institutions to abide by the societal set norms, that is doing right by the people: giving back to the community. The number one social responsibility of health care organizations is providing quality health care to the people. Being accessible to the patients and community support where they create awareness on diseases and prevention measures. With technologies like M-health and E-health, it is easier to reach the population with any health issues and even offer them quick help. It is also part of their social responsibility to work on better waste management plans which they have managed to do (Intissar Haddiya, Taha Janfi and Mohamed Guedira, 2020). For instance, there are acts like on-site waste treatment that prevent further damage to the community and help better control waste, which is an act of social responsibility.
Notably, coming up with a code of ethics is crucial for the running of health care organizations; even then, there are times that the code of ethics contradicts social responsibility. It is within their code of ethics to provide care to the patients, yet within the same aspect, access to care is limited. They must offer quality care to the patients, yet those without insurance rarely get any consideration. The costs are too high, and the health care institutions avoid the financial risks of catering to a patient without insurance. Physically assisted suicide has been on the rise in the last few years. It is against the ethical requirement of a clinician, yet; in some ways, it fulfills the social responsibility to the patients who may be in a lot of pain and terminally ill with no hope of ever getting better (ten Have, H., & Neves, 2021).
Use Of Data Analytics in A Data-Driven Society
In the last few years, data analytics has taken place and works hand in hand with business intelligence. Development and improvements within health care organizations depend on research done by analyses of different data. Evaluation and development of practitioners can easily be achieved via data analytics. It depends on data collected on the issue at hand. A good example is hospital-acquired infections, and data collection points to the primary causes, which offers intelligence on how to handle the case. Business intelligence provides what happened, and data analytics covers what will happen. Health care institutions use business intelligence to gather and secure patients’ information (Saranya, P., & Asha, 2019). Data analysis is used to develop trends common in patients and find solutions to them. Therefore, it is paramount that health care institutions take up data-driven software as they make it easier to secure information on their patients and promote business intelligence.
While memory can be a vital tool, it is imperative to acknowledge that it can also lead to mistakes. When dealing with any medical issue, depending on memory alone can be fatal for both patients and institutions. In a day, clinicians get to see so many patients, and it is straightforward to confuse their diagnosis, which is why there is the uptake of different technologies like SPSS. Electronic health records make it easier to access information on patients for the clinicians to offer medical help. Online communication is more accessible and cost-effective than hard copies, which can take long to access and analyze before giving patients critical care.
Decision-Making in Healthcare
Observably, the health care sector is essential to everyone globally because we all need health care one way or another. Therefore, all shareholders and stakeholders should be included when it comes to decision-making. In front of patients, the number is quite numerous and it may not be possible to involve everyone. Even then, in pressing matters on health care, they can indulge the population in a survey or questionnaire filling where they share their opinions. With that, most of the feedback gotten then can be used when coming up with decisions on various fronts of health care. Without the populations, the health care institution does not exist, and the same goes for the clinicians. They spend all day dealing with different patients; therefore, they know what is needed. Also, there is shared decision making when it comes to patient-doctor interactions (Welton, N. J., Sutton, A. J., Cooper, Abrams & Ades, 2012). With these, the health care professionals work with the patients to develop a solution for their condition, hence involving them in the decision making. Trends and patterns are constantly changing within health care, and they must be considered to decipher the data collected and come up with the right strategies to handle the situations. With big data, they can come up with diagnoses and treatment plans that can be affordable and effective.
Additionally, electronic medical records and electronic health records have made it easier to deliver quality care to patients. The software makes it easier to transition from one professional to another during their different shifts without losing any patient information. It also increases the accessibility of the patient’s statement to the attending clinician (Mandl, K. D., & Kohane, 2012). In cases where patients change their clinicians, their records can easily be shared to help improve their chances of getting better, unlike the past written records which were hard to share.
References
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2021). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Cengage learning.
Intissar Haddiya, Taha Janfi and Mohamed Guedira.(2020). Application of the Concepts of Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and Ethics to Healthcare Organizations.
Mandl, K. D., & Kohane, I. S. (2012). Escaping the EHR trap—the future of health IT. N Engl J Med, 366(24), 2240-2242.
Saranya, P., & Asha, P. (2019, November). Survey on Big Data Analytics in health care. In 2019 International Conference on Smart Systems and Inventive Technology (ICSSIT) (pp. 46-51). IEEE.
ten Have, H., & Neves, M. D. C. P. (2021). Assisted Suicide. In Dictionary of Global Bioethics (pp. 139-139). Springer, Cham.
Welton, N. J., Sutton, A. J., Cooper, N., Abrams, K. R., & Ades, A. E. (2012). Evidence synthesis for decision making in healthcare (Vol. 132). John Wiley & Sons.
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