Scope of Ethical Issues When Treating Patients in the ICU - Article Example

The American Medical Association revolutionized medicine in 1874 in the U.S. (“American Medical Association”, n.d.). Since then four versions of medical ethics have been published; 1903, 1957, 1980 and 2001 (“American Medical Association”, n.d.). Their most recent code was revised in 2004. After implementing the AMA code up to the end of the 20th century other codes of ethics strongly influenced American medical ethics. According to the American Medical Association code, a physician is ethically liable to inform the patient of his or her mistake when a patient goes through medical complications as a result of that mistake (Youngberg & Hattie, p. 550). The physician bears the ethical responsibility for informing the patient of all the necessary facts about the occurrence.

Errors without material consequences to the patient’s health are omitted from this circle of responsibility. However, some physicians who enter the medical profession may never be aware of the ethical responsibilities that their choice entails (Rosen et al., p. 242). Ethical practice requires that significant medical errors must be disclosed where disclosure benefits the health of the patient. In the duty of disclosing medical mistakes currently, there are no federal or state statutes requiring practitioners to disclose medical mistakes to their patients (Youngberg & Hattie, p. 550). The courts hold that the provider-patient relationship is fiduciary in nature and it is based on trust.

It creates a duty that the provider must act in the best interest of patients. If a surgical accident is caused by the negligence of the doctor then it is not defensible. In the past it was the hospitals that were frequently imputed for the mistakes of physicians and nurses, recently the physician’s liability to the hospital has also been included in the equation.