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Administrative Ethical Issues

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Submitted By Ariyah
Words 1285
Pages 6
Administrative Ethical Issues
Nicole L. Clayton
HCS/335
25 July 2011
Patricia Daugherty

Administrative Ethics Paper
Ethical issues are a constant in the healthcare world. Finding the line between what is legally right and what is ethical is not a simple task. In recent news a Turkish doctor is being tried for that very reason. The doctor on trial refused to treat a patient because the scenario would have required him to breach the doctor-patient confidentiality law. However, the gendarmeries were bound under orders to not leave the patient, who was also a prisoner, unsupervised due to the Tripartite Protocol. In this paper legal and ethical issues that arise from both sides, when each party is bound by separate laws, as well as what happens when these laws overlap.
Issue and Impact
With the case regarding Sadık Çayan Mulamahmutoğlu, a physician from south-eastern Turkey whom refused treatment of an inmate brought into the medical facility where he was working, for concerns that the scenario would violate the doctor patient confidentiality law (Bianet, 2011). This case will affect all prisoners that require healthcare treatments in a hospital setting, the law enforcement officials required to supervise the inmate and the medical professionals called on to treat the patient. This does not include the general public who agree with one side or the other. The media surrounding this case is getting many people who side with the medical professionals and less with the legal side of the dilemma. Many community members have gone so far as to create signs expressing their dissatisfaction of how Dr. Mulamahmutoğlu is being treated. “The right to health cannot be tried” has become one of the statements being displayed on posters and banners created by members of the public who disagree with the inmates right to be seen as a patient that needs to be treated (Bianet, 2011).
Arguments Supporting a Solution
Arguments used in this case come from both sides. The medical professionals and most of the community believe that the doctor acted in the best interest of the not only the patient but in his own best interest as well. Dr. Mulamahmutoğlu feels that he was doing his duty in the most ethical manner possible. According to Bianet ( 2011) Mulamahmutoğlu said "I wanted the gendarmerie officers to leave the room because the prisoner was bleeding from his anus. According to my medical education, I think that every patient has the right to patient privacy. For this reason I did not want to examine the patient in the presence of the gendarmerie officers”. All patients are entitled to patient confidentiality laws, unless they waive the right. The patient in this case did not waive his right, and because it was not an emergency scenario, Dr. Mulamahmutoğlu refused to examine the patient in order to protect his privacy.
On the other side of the argument, the gendarmeries or better known as police, were acting within the tripartite protocol. This protocol, in the most simply put terms means involving three parties. In this case, the three parties would consist of the doctor, the patient and the police. Because the inmate had committed a certain level of crime, the police were bound by law to stay with the inmate, even during the examination. Öztürk Türkdoğan, a defense lawyer stated that “people in prisons have rights and dignity. More sensitivity is required to attain the right to health of a prisoner"(Bianet, 2011).
Ethical and Legal Issues
The legal issues are that according to the tripartite protocol the inmate is not allowed to be without the police. But ethically the medical professionals have an obligation to obey the doctor patient confidentiality rule. The Hippocratic Oath even mentions confidentiality, according to Mednet (2011), “What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about” (Classic Version of the Hippocratic Oath, para. 9). The Hippocratic Oath is an Oath that new doctors take with the understanding that it is the ethical and moral guidelines to be followed by physicians worldwide.
Managerial Issues
Dr. Mulamahmutoğlu consulted the senior physician on duty after speaking with the patient and they agreed that he should make a report stating that he was not going to examine the patient because the police refused to leave the examination room. This is all that could have been done until the situation is resolved through trial in court to amend the conflict between the protocol and the confidentiality rule. The media coverage of this case is picking up speed quickly. At a recent press release there were many people who held banners, and signs, chanting that the tripartite protocol needs to be abolished. The former president of the Turkish Medical Chamber said that Dr. Mulamahmutoğlu was being tried for following the Hippocratic Oath. Furthermore, he stated "The protocol does not care about the individual in international standards and it is not clear on the three executive parties that signed the protocol with the government. We will continue our struggle against the protocol to prove a violation of human rights" (Bianet, 2011).
Proposed Solutions
The only proposed solutions at the moment are seeking a trail in a court room. The only real option to resolve this issue is by letting officials both in the legal and medical realms figure out a way to find an agreement between the protocol and the ethical laws that will enable prisoners the right to confidential examinations and treatment. The first trial of this case was followed by 150 people including representatives from the Turkish Medical Chamber, the Health and Social Service Workers Union and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Public Employees. The case has since then been postponed until early November. This case is the prime example of why administration plays such a vital role in healthcare and ethics. Ethical guidelines are fixed and set when certain issues come up that create a conflict between what is right and wrong. This case where both parties feel they are correct it is the job of those in health administration to stand up and act as leaders, to set the example on what is right. The fellow medical professionals and the administration that backed the doctor in question acted in a way that will display ethical leadership. One of the biggest parts of establishing ethical leadership is communicating a shared vision (eZine Articles, 2011). By supporting Dr. Mulamahmutoğlu, the administration is leading by example and is also creating a trust between the medical professionals and the administrative personnel that work behind the scenes. Simple acts such as these are what drive the healthcare field to always strive to be better, and with cases like this, certain unethical loopholes will be corrected insuring that all patients are seen as patients, not criminals.

References
American Medical Association. (2011). Physician Relationship Topics. Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/legal-topics/patient-physician-relationship-topics/patient-confidentiality.page
Bianet. (2011). On Trial for Complying with Medical Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/131776-on-trial-for-complying-with-medical-ethics Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. (2011). Doctor-Patient Confidentiality. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/doctor-patient-confidentiality eZine Articles. (2011). 6 Steps For Ethical Leadership in Today's Organizations. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?6-Steps-For-Ethical-Leadership-in-Todays-Organizations&id=934392
Mednet. (2011). Definition of Hippocratic Oath. Retrieved from http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/131776-on-trial-for-complying-with-medical-ethics

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