Medical Law and Ethics - Essay Example

Medical Law and EthicsIn most instances, physicians, hospital administrators, the public and chief nursing officers hold the opinion that caregivers should blindly adhere to all physicians’ orders without question. This is not always the case. This is because caregivers are not senseless automatons. Rather their training, license and education place them in a viable position to function as an efficient safety checkpoint (Fremgen, (2008). Caregivers’ practice licenses designate them as advocates for patients, providing them with the explicit authority to query all acts, which may place patients under their care, in jeopardy.

As a matter of fact, caregivers’ licenses may be revoked if the board concedes that their failure to advocate fiercely for their patients wellbeing played a critical role in the patients’ deterioration or even death. This paper will examine caregivers’ acceptable actions in the event that they dispute wrong physicians’ written orders. Caregivers have the right to refuse certain physicians’ written orders, particularly in the event that they believe that the written orders are contraindicated, do not conform to accepted hospital protocols and procedures, or can ultimately endanger the patients’ overall wellbeing.

However, caregivers should give explanations for their decisions to violate physicians’ written orders, then document their reasons, making sure to adhere to all hospital rules and protocols. Most hospitals have in place policies that clearly explain the procedures to follow when dealing with and speaking to wrong physician orders, which can include, among others, wrong prescriptions and treatment protocols (Harris, 2008). However, it is critical that caregivers voice their oppositions to the written orders to the relevant physician to ensure appropriate changes are made in order to guarantee that the patient receives optimal quality of healthcare.

However, in some instances, physicians may be hard headed and refuse to accept caregivers’ corrections. In such cases, it is vital that caregivers follow the right procedures established by the hospital administration to seek changes in the written orders to deter the incidence of harm to patients. Nonetheless, provided that the caregiver is sure that the physician’s written orders are wrong, he or she is legally permissible to violate the orders and, in turn, institute appropriate measures and treatment protocols, which are guaranteed to help the patient attain optimal health.

Caregivers as essentially responsible for reading charts and orders drawn by physicians, not just for the purpose of offering immediate care services, but also to familiarize themselves with sufficient information to enable them carry out their responsibilities effectively. Time after time, devoting extra time to sift through patients’ full medical charts can save patients’ lives and the caregivers a lot of grief associated with proceedings against negligent behaviours. Since continuity of care is a vital component to ensuring optimal patient outcomes, it is critical that caregivers always take into consideration the patients’ wellbeing rather than merely affirming the physicians’ positions as the primary providers of healthcare services, and whose orders must be adhered to without question (Pozgar, 2012).

The policy of continuity of care thereby requires caregivers to become intimately knowledgeable of their patients’ medical records, which, in turn, enhances their capacities to recognize subtle changes, reducing errors, which are related to physicians’ written orders. ReferencesFremgen, B. F. (2008). Medical law and ethics. Michigan: University of Michigan. Harris, D. M. (2008). Contemporary issues in healthcare law and ethics. Michigan: University of Michigan.Pozgar, G. D. (2012). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals book only (3rd ed.). Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.