When it comes to our well-being, nothing is more important than our health. During the journey of caring for ourselves and our loved ones, we often encounter challenging decisions that require careful thought. Sometimes, these decisions aren't easy to make on our own. Healthcare ethics can play an important role.
What are Healthcare Ethics?
Healthcare ethics explore and clarify the principles and values that guide our actions. These principles can serve as a foundation for making decisions.
Healthcare ethics focus on the many decisions that arise in medical settings. Whether it's about the type of care received or the treatment options available, healthcare ethics help to navigate these situations by considering different perspectives—medical, psychological, social, spiritual, and more.
What Happens During a Free Healthcare Ethics Consultation at APD?
At APD, our free healthcare ethics consultations are designed to support you in making challenging decisions. Our ethics group includes providers, nurses, and other trained staff and community members. We are here to support patients, loved ones, and healthcare workers.
Here are the steps we follow for each situation:
- Gather information: We start by gathering all relevant information about your situation. We recognize everyone involved—patients, loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers.
- Explore: We examine the situation from multiple angles, making sure that all aspects of the situation are considered.
- Clarify: We identify the ethical questions raised and the principles that can help guide the decision-making process. These might include respecting the patient’s wishes or acting in the patient’s best interest.
- Offer guidance: Based on the discussion, we offer suggestions to help navigate the ethical questions. Our suggestions are not legally binding. They are meant to support informed decision-making.
- Document: For patients, we add a consultation summary to the medical record so that the insights and recommendations are available for future reference.
When Should You Seek a free Healthcare Ethics Consultation?
You might consider seeking a free healthcare ethics consultation when any of these are present:
- Questions about your healthcare: If you have questions or uncertainties about your care, a consultation can help clarify your options.
- Disagreement about care options: When there’s a lack of understanding or agreement around care options, a consultation can help find a path forward which respects everyone’s concerns.
- Distressing patient care issues: Healthcare workers may seek a consultation to debrief and gain perspective on challenging or distressing care situations.
- Differences of opinion: When patients and families disagree on the best course of action, a consultation can help bring people toward a mutually acceptable decision.
A free Healthcare Ethics consultation at APD can help you, your loved ones, and your care team make more informed, compassionate, and thoughtful decisions in the healthcare journey. To schedule or for information, please call (603) 603-308-0019 or email APD_#ethics@hitchcock.org