Instructor Resources: PowerPoint slides, case studies, and lists of selected ethics center websites and selected ethics journals.

 

Frontline caregivers face ethical challenges that are very different from those encountered elsewhere in the organization. Healthcare professionals trained on a structured approach to identifying, analyzing, and resolving ethical issues in clinical settings can greatly improve the patient experience and the quality of care.

Managing Healthcare Ethically: Clinical Challenges looks at dilemmas that occur in caring for individual patients and groups of patients in today’s changing clinical environment. Assembling columns originally published in American College of Healthcare Executives publications, in particular Healthcare Executive magazine, the book describes and shares practical solutions for the ethical issues that clinical practitioners regularly encounter. It also explores the important role that ethics committees perform in developing and applying policies.

Topics covered include:

• Informed consent
• The ethics of telemedicine and big data
• Patient-centered care
• Conflicts of interest
• Empathy’s role in improving resiliency

Following each column, discussion questions stimulate conversation with colleagues or students. A selected bibliography recommends additional resources for continued learning.

Clinical care is at the heart of every healthcare organization, and this book emphasizes the key role that ethics and professionalism play in effectively managing patient experiences and outcomes. The book’s two companion volumes examine ethics through different lenses. Managing Healthcare Ethically: Leadership Roles and Responsibilities focuses on how leaders’ personal ethics and professionalism drive the behaviors of others. Managing Healthcare Ethically: Organizational Concerns addresses how organizations structure their ethical policies and practices. In all, these three volumes demonstrate the essential role of ethics in delivering better patient care.