Ethics in Healthcare

            The theory selected for review is utilitarianism theory. The major proponents of the theory are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Bentham is credited for contributing significantly to the development of the first systematic account of utilitarianism (Mandal, Ponnambath, & Parija, 2016). The theory provides that behavior is considered morally appropriate if it leads to the greatest happiness or utility to an individual. This consequentialist theory emphasizes on the outcomes more than the process. The theorists provide that a choice considered the most ethical if it leads to the achievement of the greatest good for a high number of individuals (Mandal, Ponnambath, & Parija, 2016). The theory operates based on three principles. First, happiness or pleasure produces the only true intrinsic value; second, actions are considered right as long as they promote happiness; and third, each person’s happiness counts equally.

            In the field of health care, the theory of utilitarianism provides that the decisions undertaken for each patient’s case should promote overall good consequences. Each decision healthcare professionals make regarding a patient must involve consideration of a measure of balance between harms and benefits (Felzmann, 2017). The theory affects the provision of health care because it guides the healthcare professionals in achieving the greatest good for the highest number of patients. The theory of utilitarianism has led to the establishment of policies that help in coming up with more informed decisions. The outcomes of a decision act as a guide to the morality of the action. This makes utilitarianism a society-centered approach that may cause harm to a few individuals, but a net maximum-benefit to the majority of the population.

            An example of the application of the theory in healthcare can best be contextualized in the current COVID-19pandemic. Most government were at a dilemma on whether to implement protocols that limit the spread of the disease to a huge population while affecting the economic wellbeing of individuals and state actors. The alternative course of action involved allowing the economy to thrive at the expense of the spread of the disease. The decision to implement COVID-19 policies to stop the rapid spread of the disease to the whole population held an overwhelmingly huge potential to bring about the greatest good for the highest number of people (Balak, Broekman, & Mathiesen, 2020). Although some people have been economically affected in a negative way due to loss of jobs and means of livelihoods, majority of the people have benefited from the limited spread of the disease.

References

Balak, N., Broekman, M. L., & Mathiesen, T. (2020). Ethics in contemporary health care management and medical education. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 26(3), 699-706.

Felzmann, H. (2017). Utilitarianism as an Approach to Ethical Decision Making in Health Care. In Key Concepts and Issues in Nursing Ethics (pp. 29-41). Springer, Cham.

Mandal, J., Ponnambath, D. K., & Parija, S. C. (2016). Utilitarian and deontological ethics in medicine. Tropical parasitology, 6(1), 5.