Analyzing an Ethical Decision Discussion Paper

Summarize the moral/ethical issue in the article (no more than 1 paragraph).
Describe the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding the issue.
Analyze the ethical issue and compare them to the state health laws and regulations in your state( Maryland state).
Outline the process of ethical decision making you would use to address this ethical dilemma.

Analyzing an Ethical Decision

Summarize the moral/ethical issue in the article.

Bipeta (2019) explores the ethical aspects presented in the Mental Healthcare Act of 2017 (MHCA 2017). It identifies the rights of patients with mental illness (PWMI), as well as the ethical and legal responsibilities of medical personnel offering these patients care. It specifically notes that although the rights of PWMI match those of other members of the society, PWMI are a unique group since their mental conditions identify them as vulnerable thus requiring special attention.  Analyzing an Ethical Decision Discussion Paper  The diminished mental capacity of PWMI make them potential medico-legal cases and care must be taken to avoid such cases. Besides that, the article notes that PWMI require special attention at every encounter with medical personnel to include medical evaluation, treatment and participation in research. At every encounter, there is a need to ensure that the fundamental rights are translated into respect for the principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice, confidentiality, boundary violations, and informed consent. Overall, the article concedes that although every encounter between medical personnel and PWMI could be a potential medico-legal case, it possible to avoid such cases by balancing idealism and pragmatism in providing ethically sound care (Bipeta, 2019).

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Describe the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding the issue.

The ethical dilemma surrounding the issue discussed in Bipeta (2019) is the diminished cognitive capacity of PWMI that makes it difficult for them to participate in decision making so that they are likely to be ignored. Besides that, psychiatric disorders carry significant biases, myths and stigma with ethical implications. The cause of psychiatric disorders has varied beliefs presented as explanatory models of the illness. Some of the models include the psychosocial stress model, medical model, supernatural/magical model, religious model, and moral model. Each of these models has different implications for the rights of the patient. This is especially so when applied in diagnosis, an activity that largely relies in observations and symptomatology without laboratory and investigation markers thereby making the diagnosis imprecise. The diagnosis presents a label that could have psychological and social consequences to the PWMI, such as stigma, discrimination, danger, exclusion, secrecy, blame and shame, leading to rejection and isolation (Jain et al., 2015). The set of circumstances describes indicate that there is a need for ethical guidelines to help in maintaining accountability and transparency in providing care to PWMI.

Analyze the ethical issue and compare them to the state health laws and regulations in your state (Maryland State).

The ethical issue presented by Bipeta (2019) is the rights of PWMI. The Maryland Department of Health recognizes these concerns and has presented regulations offered as a Code of Ethics. Firstly, the code presents a requirement for professional competence among medical personnel to include education, training, supervised and professional competence as indicators of the capacity to provide the required care. Secondly, the code identifies ethical responsibility in terms of what medical personnel can and cannot do. Fourthly, the code defines the counseling relationship in terms of PWMI welfare, rights and information that should be provided to them. It requires that medical personnel inform PWMI about the purpose, goals, techniques, procedures, limitations, potential risks and benefits of medical services provided. Fifthly, the code talks of confidentiality and informed consent, noting that privacy and confidentiality of a PWMI must be maintained. Records can only be released with the consent of the PWMI or as permitted by the practice code and standards (Maryland Division of State Documents, 2020).

Outline the process of ethical decision making you would use to address this ethical dilemma.

The ethical decision making process outlined by Kaplan (2017) would be appropriate. The first step is getting an understanding of the case and the nature of the ethical dilemma in terms of the available courses of action. The second step is exploring the relevant code of ethics and matching them to the deconstructed decisions and options. The third step is examining evidence in terms of what is known that could contribute to the decision. The final step is making the best decision with the least ethical concern (Kaplan, 2017).

References

Bipeta R. (2019). Legal and Ethical Aspects of Mental Health Care. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 41(2), 108-112. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_59_19

Jain, S., Kuppili, P., Pattanayak, R., & Sagar, R. (2017). Ethics in Psychiatric Research: Issues and Recommendations. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 39(5), 558-565. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_131_17

Kaplan, C. (2017). Ethical dilemmas. Advanced Healthcare Network. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160416180027/http://nurse-practitioners-and-physician-assistants.advanceweb.com/Article/Ethical-Dilemmas-2.aspx

Maryland Division of State Documents (2020). Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR): Code of Ethics. http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/SubtitleSearch.aspx?search=10.58.03.%2a

Analyzing an Ethical Decision Discussion Paper