Please view the “Ethics in healthcare: An introduction” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPpnaT5VSdA) and use the background readings for this module to discuss the following: Discuss the...

Ethics in healthcare 1
Ethics in healthcare
Student’s name
Instructor’s Name
University Name
Submission date
Assignment Code
Ethics in healthcare 2
Discuss the “social responsibility” of ethical healthcare.
Ethics have a social facet in terms of not only it is a moral and legal obligation, it has a social
esponsibility also. Nowadays there is a generation gap in ethical behaviour in the medical
profession. Overall, there has been erosion in ethical values. There was a great focus on
honesty, sincerity, academic excellence and service to the poor in earlier times which was a
esult partly of the overall political and social ethos of earlier times. Earlier times could be
called as an era of idealism and the ethical stance of medical profession was heavily under the
influence of politics of those times. The trend even rolled over into the seventies and eighties
wherein many young doctors, again influenced by political ideology, left lucrative careers to
experiment in alternative ways of practising medicine. However, this inclination started to
disappear in the eighties with a drastic reduction in the nineties. This waning was due to an
overall U-turn from ideology emanating from dominance of market and commercial values in
society in general and healthcare profession in particular. The commitment towards ethical
ehaviour that arose from a wider social commitment in no small measure, has declined and
is cu
ently at its lowest level. The society’s behavioural value system at any given point in
time is heavily affected by dominant political thought and socio-political ethos (Medical
ethics – a social responsibility | Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 1995).
The question arises why should it be binding on a young doctor to ethically perform his
duties? In addition to several moral and legal reasons for doing so, it is absolutely essential to
practice ethically because the society has immensely contributed towards the education of
every physician doctor in more than one ways and therefore, it becomes incumbent upon him
to repay that debt. The repayment of debt could be through some philanthropic work like free
treatment to poor patients, free health camps in rural areas, Health education and training and
subsidized health care treatment. In poor countries, the exo
itant fees charged by doctors are
absolutely reprehensible since they represent social exploitation. Health care discrimination
Ethics in healthcare 3
and inaccessibility to health care facilities are particularly relevant for developing third world
countries. The medical profession should try to promote a scientific and rational method of
practising medicine by addressing such issues such as...