Narcotic substances are widely used in modern medicine as painkillers and hypnotic agents. Drug addiction is a mental condition that includes an urgent need to take medications that affect the psyche. Medical workers often find themselves in ethically difficult situations that require a special approach. It is important for any medical professional to know in which situation it is worth applying one or another ethical method. The care-based ethics and the rights ethics will be discussed in this essay as the solutions for this problem.
The Scenario
The scenario: a twenty-five-year-old male patient who was seriously obese and was practically unable to move independently. He was a difficult patient, as in addition to a catastrophic physical condition, he had many psychological problems. This patient had a terrible temper with a tendency to manipulate and frequent tantrums. In addition, it turned out that the patient was dependent addicted to painkillers. The man came with a false complaint, so that the doctor prescribed him another dose of medication. When the doctor refused to give him pills, he called an ambulance and made up complaints to be given painkillers. The patient manipulates the medical professional to get the desired medications since he does not have medical indications for prescribing painkillers. The doctor can use various ethical theories to solve this problem.
The Care-based Ethics
The feminist care-based ethics is characterized by a sharp critical pathos towards the moral and philosophical tradition originating in antiquity and retaining its influence in modern ethics. The criticism of classical moral philosophy determines the peculiarity of the care-based position is conducted here in light of the differentiation of sexual roles that have developed in European culture (Rachels & Rachels, 2019). The Care-based ethics is built as an alternative to the classical tradition; it attempts to create a moral and philosophical concept based on the rationalization of women’s moral experience.
The care-based ethics implies, first of all, the creation of a particular, trusting relationship between the doctor and the patient. The advantage of the feminist ethics of care is that the concept of care was first placed at the center of morality and became the starting point for constructing a moral theory (Jordan, 2020). The care-based ethics solution to this problem would be to form a close and friendly relationship between the doctor and the patient. The doctor could reject rational-logical ways of recognizing and solving moral issues and instead focus on empathy and moral support for the patient. Such a solution is long-lasting but more effective in the long term, as it can help cope with the patient’s psychological issues.
The Rights Ethics
The rights ethic theory implies that a person’s rights may prevail over the general consequences of an action or situation. Based on the ethics of rights, each patient is considered from the point of view of their rights. In addition, the theory of rights allows focusing on the point of view of the “victim” and protects the patient’s interests. The concept of rights, as a rule, is understood as philosophically grounded; that is, it has a commonality and consensus. However, the acceptance and application of such rights to an individual may too often be subject to appropriate interpretations when the recipient of such arrangements cannot be either transparent or morally justified. In this case, decisions based on the ethics of rights would be unreasonable since, although the patient has the right to medicines, the doctor cannot prescribe them to him.
Healthcare Technologies Involved in this Situation
Healthcare technologies are the application of organized knowledge and skills in devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems designed to solve health problems and improve the quality of life. They include pharmaceuticals, devices, methods, and organizational systems used in the healthcare industry and computer information systems (Gehring et al., 2017). In this situation, computer information technologies were used, which helped determine the patient’s drug dependence.
Social Technologies and Moral Guidelines
Social technologies can provide tangible help in such situations, since any exchange of information, including blogs, crowdfunding, online encyclopedias, will allow medical professionals to understand in advance if a patient is abusing medications. Negotiations and data exchange between different departments is essential, as communication will help to ensure compliance with the necessary legislative acts. In this case the following guidelines should be used: humane treatment of the patient, willingness to provide professional assistance to each patient, the constant work of a medic on themselves, the duty to fight for the life of the patient to the last, and the principles of self-sacrifice and heroism in the name of life.
Guidelines
Based on the concept of utilitarianism, doctors should evaluate the morality of a decision or action by its consequences or results. Medical professionals should act in such a way as to maximize the usefulness for the maximum number of people. According to the ethics of utilitarianism, a medical worker should follow well-founded rules, which, in turn, are based on the principle of utility. Moreover, a medical professional should remember that the choice of a specific solution depends on the specifics of a particular situation. The doctor should act in such a way as to achieve the greatest usefulness in a particular situation, and at the same time exceptions to well-founded rules may be morally justified. However, the doctor should also be able to assess the internal morality of an action.
References
Gehring, N. D., McGrath, P., Wozney, L., Soleimani, A., Bennett, K., Hartling, L., Huguet, A., Dyson, M. P. & Newton, A. S. (2017). Pediatric eMental healthcare technologies: a systematic review of implementation foci in research studies, and government and organizational documents.Implementation Science, 12(1), 1-18. Web.
Jordan, A. (2020). Masculinizing care? Gender, ethics of care, and fathers’ rights groups.Men and Masculinities, 23(1), 20-41. Web.
Rachels, S., & Rachels, J. (2019). The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.