Among the most moral professions in the world is considered to be the medical field. The professional ethics of health care are commonly considered to have as their guiding principles regard for independence and loyalty to the patient. An advance directive is a written agreement that specifies the patient’s preferences for medical care and may appoint someone to act on their behalf in the event of incapacity (Morrison, 2020). It is created in advance of a severe sickness or unexpected accident. They allow patients to communicate their beliefs, objectives for treatment, and medical wishes for future care planning, irrespective of their age or health situation. If a surrogate would be making treatment decisions, the doctor should explain how to do so in accordance with the participant’s advance directive (Mentzelopoulos et al., 2021). Whenever disagreements emerge amongst family members over their moral and ethical principles beliefs that they might not share with their loved one the doctor should ask the ethics committee for advice.
An ethics commission’s duties include reviewing incidences as a consulting organization when ethically complex incidents happen, helping to clarify the issues and identifying all possible approaches and actions (Mentzelopoulos et al., 2021). They also help to evaluate the available alternatives and offer recommendations, and assisting the patient, relatives, and treatment team with making decisions. According to Mentzelopoulos et al. (2021), elaboration of concerns involving decision-making ability, consent form, and advance directives; do-not-resuscitate commands; withdrawal of medication; and support in resolving disputes are among the most frequent ethical difficulties in healthcare.
The ethics committee works to offer workable solutions that will result in the best possible solution to moral confusions regarding the patient’s ongoing treatment. Yet, it is crucial to keep in mind that an ethical committee serves in an advisory position rather than being viewed as the patient’s replacement agent (Morrison, 2020). A patient’s rights are ultimately protected by an advance directive, which is why the ethics board and healthcare provider should support it.
References
Mentzelopoulos, S. D., Couper, K., Voorde, P. V., Druwé, P., Blom, M., Perkins, G. D., Lulic, I., Djakow, J., Raffay, V., Lilja, G., & Bossaert, L. (2021). European Resuscitation Council guidelines 2021: Ethics of Resuscitation and end of life decisions. Resuscitation, 161, 408–432. Web.
Morrison, R. S. (2020). Advance directives/care planning: Clear, simple, and wrong. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 23(7), 878–879. Web.