Code Of Ethics Assignment: Case Analysis Of Ramsay HealthCare

Question

Task:
You are required to research recent news articles and other information about Ramsay Health Care.

You must then draft a Code of Ethics assignment for the case of Ramsay Health Care. The word limit is 2000 words.

Your Code of Ethics for Ramsay Health Care must specifically address:

1. Discrimination
2. Exploitation
3. Corruption
4. Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior
5. Whistleblower Protections
6. Enforcement

You will be required to include a minimum of 5 references in your Code of Ethics which must come from academic journals or textbooks.

Answer

Introduction
According to the research on code of ethics assignment, codes of ethics are the guiding principles that set out the obligation for the organization to show proficiency, honesty, and integrity in its operations. It is mainly designed to shape the conduct of an organization so that it can adhere to the principle of honesty and integrity. Codes of ethics provide the framework for the professionals for dealing with the problem. The code of ethics becomes extremely important in healthcare given the complex nature of the conditions in which it operates. It sets out the ethical standards which are to be observed by all the persons who are operating in the healthcare setting (Chaet, 2016). This project is about preparing a code of ethics for Ramsay healthcare which is a private healthcare provider and recognizes that each and health care staff are the important assets of the healthcare system. The slogan of the Ramsay healthcare system is People Caring for People which can be developed by incorporating an effective code of ethics (Ramsay Health Care, 2020). The project will address the discrimination, exploitation, corruption, Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior, Whistleblower Protections, Enforcement dimension while preparing the code of ethics for Ramsay Healthcare.

Discrimination:
It is well recognized that the occurrence of discrimination does take place in a healthcare setting. Socially disadvantaged groups are often subjected to discrimination. Discrimination based on ethnicity and immigration is quite prevalent. The transgender community often suffers from such discrimination affecting their physical and mental wellbeing. The black people are most marginalized due to the racial discrimination they face while availing the healthcare services (Tarzian and Wocial, 2015). Discrimination in healthcare creates barriers the access to healthcare services.

The code of ethics of Ramsay healthcare should address the problem of discrimination in healthcare in its operations. The physician should examine that while carrying out their practice they should not adhere to practices that discriminate against patients based on stereotypes and biases. Their demeanor towards the patients and clinical judgment should remain the same while treating patients irrespective of their race, gender, color, and ethnicity, etc. The physician should ensure that gender, ethnicity, stereotype, biasness should not play any role in forming a professional relationship with the patient (Kcomt, 2019). The responsibility of the physician includes that they treat transgender patients with the same concern and seriousness as they would do in other cases. The person belonging to the socially disadvantaged class should be accorded the same respect and confidentiality should be maintained regarding the information even after death. Physicians should ensure that Prevention and treatment of patients belonging to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) should be taken care of in the best possible manner without opting for any kind of discrimination and bias against the community as they are the biggest sufferers of the hate crime violence in the society.

Exploitation:
Exploitation activities are well prevalent in the healthcare sector where many times the patients are exploited for carrying out clinical research without their due consent. Junior doctors also face moral exploitation from the senior doctors where many times they are forced to take the decision and share the moral burden of the decision. The other forms of exploitation in healthcare include utilizing professional relationships for personal gains. Also, the use of the medical information of the patients is done to exploit the patients (George & Thampi, 2019).

The code of ethics should contain the principle of non-exploitation where due permission of the patient should be taken before carrying out any kind of medical research. The code must contain strict guidelines regarding using the professional relationship for material gains by the healthcare professionals. The code must mention preventing the use of medical information by healthcare professionals for exploiting patients for their gains. The code of ethics of Ramsey healthcare must contain provisions that deal with the exploitation of junior doctors by senior management.

Corruption:
The practice of corrupt activities in the healthcare system ranges from the act of charging bribery from the doctors and nurses working in the health setup to the administration level which diverges the resources for their gain rather than investing in infrastructure to improve the quality of healthcare services delivered by the organization (Kim, Kang, and Ahn, 2013). Corruption in the health sector is mainly involved in the purchase of medical equipment, construction, carrying out medical research.

The code of ethics of the health institution should incorporate principles that discourage corrupt tendencies among senior management and nurses. The code of ethics should mention the audit and fine mechanisms to put the institution on the path of integrity and honesty while carrying out their activities. The code should deal with the different types of corruption which are prevalent in the health setting like fiscal, intellectual, ethical. The code of ethics should incorporate moral and social accountability on the part of health professionals of the health institution. The code can enumerate the transparency policy which is to be followed to reduce corruption in the procurement of medical equipment (Stiernstedt, 2019). The code can introduce an outside mechanism in which the auditor who is involved in auditing the health institution has no previous relationship with the institution. The ethics code should emphasize the development of the leadership in the institution for the effective oversight of the institution which can help in bringing down the cases of corruption.

Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior:
The healthcare institutions are often involved in the Dishonest and Fraudulent Behaviors which include billing of the patients above the services which are rendered to them. The healthcare institutions often indulge in billing the items which were not used during the process of the treatment as a result the patient’s accessibility of the healthcare services is affected due to unaffordability of the services (Stahl and Emanuel, 2017). It also includes charging higher reimbursement for the services which they are mandated to provide at a lower cost.

The code of ethics of Ramsay health care should ensure that the organization shall not engage in submitting for a claim which is fraudulent i.e. the patient must be charged accordingly to the services rendered to it. The code must mention addressing the queries of the patients regarding the billing of the services offered to them (Houdek, 2017). The code should talk about ensuring the record of the payment made by the patient to the health institution for a time that is prescribed by the law. The code of ethics of the organization should emphasize the keeping regular record on the credit balance of the institution to avoid the occurrence of any Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior in the healthcare institution (Hennig?Schmidt, Jürges & Wiesen, 2019). The code should entail educating the employees of the health institution about the consequences of the premature destruction of payment records and indulging in Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior.

Whistleblower Protection:
There is increased responsibility on the health care workers and volunteers working in the healthcare sector to report the unethical practices that are being carried out in the health institution which may put the patient's safety at risk. It has been found that the persons who are involved in the whistleblowing activities in the health setting faced detrimental treatment by the senior colleagues and even face the loss of their job (Engel and Prentice, 2013). The whistleblowers were also subjected to facing defamation cases by the health institution whose image was negatively impacted.

The code of ethics of the institution must comprehensively cover the different aspects related to whistleblowing within the health institutions to guide the institution on the direction of professionalism. The code of ethics should promote speaking up of healthcare workers and volunteers if they found any practice of the organization which is against the set standards and putting patient's safety at risk. The code should encourage the setting up of a mechanism through which the people can report the malpractices which are taking place in the health institution. The code of ethics lays down the direction that no form of job loss and detrimental will be faced by the health worker and the volunteer who is involved in the whistleblowing activity if the reported incidents of malpractices are found true (Kaplan et al., 2020). The code should impose moral responsibility on all the stakeholders which are involved with the healthcare institution to report practices that do not adhere to the set standards. The code should work towards educating all the employees of the organization regarding the current whistleblower's act which is enacted by the local government and aligning the policies of the institution which adhere to such legislations.

Enforcement:
Codes of ethics in the health institution are mandatory rather than being optional. It can put moral responsibility on the individuals to adhere to these principles while carrying out their respective responsibility. The enforcement of the code of ethics should follow the principles which are expected by the government from the stakeholders involved in the health institution.

The proper enforcement of the code of ethics will depend upon the communication of the expected behavior and actions that are expected from the individuals. Fostering the environment where people are free to express their opinion without thinking of retribution will help in the efficient enforcement of the code of ethics. Providing proper explanation to healthcare professionals and volunteers regarding the code of ethics of the organization so that the workplace ethics can be kept in mind while performing the respective tasks (Flasher & Lamboy-Ruiz, 2019). Devising a proper reward system which will be based on the peer review regarding the individual performance in meeting the set code of ethics of the health institution will help in the proper implementation of the code of ethics for the organization. Employing the criteria of adherence to the code of ethics for annual employee rewards and recognition will go a long way in successfully enforcing of code of ethics in the organization. The following of the code of ethics from the senior management and doctors helps to create a positive environment regarding the adherence to the code of ethics which will help in enforcing the code among the healthcare workers and other stakeholders involved in the activities of the healthcare organization.

Potential sanctions:
Discrimination: The code of ethics provides for the potential sanctions for the healthcare professionals who are found to be involved in discriminative practices and observing the code of ethics. Healthcare professionals can face suspension for up to 6 months for any discriminative practice and in case of repetition, the suspension can be ordered up to 2 years.

Exploitation: Code of ethics provides for oral reprimands in case the employee is not observing the set norms. The oral reprimand will then be followed by a written warning and if the employee continues to indulge in exploitative practices then termination of the service will be carried on. In the case of the exhibition of the same behavior will lead to the termination of the service.

Corruption: Not observing the code of ethics and opting for corrupt practices in the organization will lead to loss of benefits which were earlier enjoyed and liability for the damages which is caused due to the corrupt practice. Confiscation is also provided to deal with people not adhering to the code of ethics.

Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior: Not observing the code of ethics and indulging in dishonest and fraudulent behavior will lead to disciplinary actions in which the imposition of a fine will be carried out. Withholding of pay increase or bonus will also be done. Repetitive indulgence in fraudulent behavior can cause permanent suspension of the employee.

Whistleblower Protection: The person found to be creating a hurdle in the enforcement of the code of ethics to strengthen the whistleblower protection will face suspension with probation which involves retraining and in case of the exhibition of the same behavior, termination of the services will be carried out followed by the disciplinary actions taken by the health institution.

Conclusion:
From the above assessment, it can be concluded that the importance of the code of ethics in Ramsay healthcare is of prime importance which will help in the development of a proper patient-doctor relationship. The code of ethics will put a moral obligation upon the physicians to not indulge in using the professional relationship to gain material benefit. The enforcement of the code of ethics will help to prevent discrimination which is relevant in the health sector based on ethnicity, migration, gender, stereotype, and will make the healthcare services available to all the sections irrespective of their identity. The implementation of the code of ethics will further help in observing ethical behavior from the healthcare workers and professionals at the workplace leading to the enhancement of the productivity of the health institution. It will supplement the health institution efforts to reduce corruption in the health setting and becoming more responsible towards the patients leading to the active growth and development of both the patient and the organization.

References:
Chaet, D.H., 2016. AMA Code of Medical Ethics’ Opinions Related to Discrimination and Disparities in Health Care. AMA Journal of Ethics, 18(11), pp.1095-1097.

Engel, J. and Prentice, D., 2013. The ethics of interprofessional collaboration. Nursing ethics, 20(4), pp.426-435.

Flasher, R. and Lamboy-Ruiz, M.A., 2019. Impact of enforcement on healthcare billing fraud: Evidence from the USA. Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-13.

George, G. and Thampi, S.M., 2019, November. Securing Smart Healthcare Systems from Vulnerability Exploitation. In International Conference on Smart City and Informatization (pp. 295-308). Springer, Singapore.

Hennig?Schmidt, H., Jürges, H. and Wiesen, D., 2019. Dishonesty in health care practice: A behavioral experiment on upcoding in neonatology. Health Economics, 28(3), pp.319-338.

Houdek, P., 2017. Professional identity and dishonest behavior. Society, 54(3), pp.253-260.

Kaplan, S.E., Lanier Jr, D., Pope, K.R. and Samuels, J.A., 2020. External investigators' follow-up intentions when whistleblowers report healthcare fraud: The effects of report anonymity and previous confrontationAnonymity and previous confrontation effects. Behavioral Research in Accounting.

Kcomt, L., 2019. Profound health-care discrimination experienced by transgender people: rapid systematic review. Social work in health care, 58(2), pp.201-219.

Kim, Y.S., Kang, S.W. and Ahn, J.A., 2013. Moral sensitivity relating to the application of the code of ethics. Nursing Ethics, 20(4), pp.470-478.

Ramsayhealth.com. 2020. The Ramsay Way Values. [online] Available at: [Accessed 28 November 2020].

Stahl, R.Y. and Emanuel, E.J., 2017. Physicians, not conscripts—conscientious objection in health care. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(14), pp.1380-1385.

Stiernstedt, P., 2019. Some Things Are Rarely Discussed in Public–on the Discourse of Corruption in Healthcare: Comment on" We Need to Talk About Corruption in Health Systems". International journal of health policy and management, 8(9), p.560.

Tarzian, A.J., Wocial, L.D. and ASBH Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs Committee, 2015. A code of ethics for health care ethics consultants: journey to the present and implications for the field. The American Journal of Bioethics, 15(5), pp.38-51.