Abstract:
The practice of public and global health confirms that ethics is imbedded
in healthcare. Although ethics may be regarded as inherent to the
healthcare profession, values and trust are challenged because of the
quality of product (service and delivery), inequality in the global healthcare
system and rapid technological developments in healthcare. Regardless
of good systems and supportive ethical codes in healthcare practices,
there are nevertheless ethical challenges in healthcare. This situation
necessitates an attempt to understand the dual role that ethics can play
as foundation for healthcare systems based on the global accepted
understanding of “do no harm” and as an activity alongside many other
healthcare activities. This paper discusses these roles of healthcare
ethics in addition to the existing, but limited, focus on the patient in the
healthcare system. The argument is presented that attention should be
given to the ethical needs of those people (in different roles) engaged in
the delivery of healthcare. The focus of the paper is on the role that ethics
can play in healthcare as a system and a service. Four developments are
identified in support of this focus, namely the cost of healthcare; cultural
influences on and preparedness for service; the increasing number of aged individuals and their healthcare needs; and ethical challenges
such as informed consent. From these developments the central
perspective of the paper is presented, namely that ethics should be part
of any healthcare system and the promotion of the well-being of people
in healthcare, rather than merely the health of the individual patient
only. Glouberman and Mintzberg’s identification of four worlds (cure,
care, control and community) is used as context for the argument. The
research is based on a translational research methodology approach to
provide best practice perspectives to the healthcare industry.
