Ethics

Legal Aspects of U.S. Health Care System Administration

Danita Mitchell

Dr. Griffin

HSA 515

July 27, 2014

Abstract

Quality problems are reflected today in the wide variation in use of health care services, the underuse and overuse of some services, and misuse of others. Every day, millions of Americans receive high-quality health care that helps to maintain or restore their health and ability to function. However, far too many do not. A central goal of health care quality improvement is to maintain what is good about the existing health care system while focusing on the areas that need improvement. Maintaining public health is a chief duty of the state. Health regulations and laws are almost all administered at the state level.

As the top administrator of Well Care Hospital, our goal is to be the best at what needs to be done to keep the hospital around for many centuries to come. All problems of life have solutions, but all solutions are not based on moral principles. Principles alone do not lead to ethical decisions; decisions without principles are ethically empty. Committed to performance improvement and maintaining integrity, the Well Care Hospital recognizes personal accountability and moral obligation to all customers served—clients, employees, employers, physicians, organizations, and the public. Well Care Hospital also promotes the dignity of the profession and are committed to practicing the profession with honesty, integrity, and accountability, respecting all laws and refusing to participate in or conceal any unethical, false, fraudulent, or deceptive activity. Tort law has developed as the legal method for providing compensation to persons injured by another who owed a duty of care. However, the traditional negligence-based system has been breaking down over time, and large jury awards and malpractice claims are hindering the abilities of health care professionals and threatening technological developments and medical cures.

Ethics...