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Date Submitted: 03/24/2013 05:21 PM
Ethical Health and Issues Paper
Joan Ramos
HCS/545
March 4, 2012
Charles J. Barron
Ethical Health and Issues Paper
In many communities around the nation costs of treating Americans is on the rise. Studies have shown that hospitals are engaging in unethical practices that are putting people at risk because they are unable to pay for their health care. One such practice is called ‘patient dumping’ and it has become a burden on public hospitals that are already overwhelmed with individuals that have no insurance or any means of paying for their care, which means those public hospitals are shouldering that burden alone and losing a great deal of money. ‘Patient dumping’ is the practice of turning away or transferring uninsured patients with emergency medical conditions (GWU, 2012), which has been an ongoing problem between hospitals and the uninsured. In 1986 the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was enforced to help eliminate this ongoing problem. This law required hospitals to provide appropriate medical screening and stabilized care to the uninsured with emergency conditions (Ascension Health, 2013). ‘Patient dumping’ is unethical on many levels. It could make the person feel worthless and not in control of their own care, not to mention the harm it can bring to those individuals because they are not receiving the care they need, and deserve, in an emergency situation. Health care is one thing that every person should have equal access to in an emergency situation regardless of coverage or location.
When dealing with the care of an individual, whether in an emergency situation or just their primary care, there are ethical principles to keep in mind, and necessary to follow, for the better of the patient and the organization providing the services. First of all, 'patient dumping' is unethical and constitutes malpractice; twenty-five years ago a law was passed banning this practice, however, it is still putting most uninsured Americans at...