Identification of managerial, financial, legal and ethical implications - Essay Example

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Care Communication The organizational structure of hospitals is such that the highly trained professionals form acore which holds most of the decision making power over the more numerous exterior consisting of nurses, juniors and other technical staff (Wallis & Wolff, 1988). The communication issues that this structure has developed have been documented before. However, despite the depth and spread of the problem, it still remains strictly a matter of internal administration and hence does not come under legal or ethical restrictions.

That is to say, there is no law in place that requires a manager to be “more communicative” or demands that the hospital provide a more “competitive environment” for the members. Whatever legislature that pertains to the subject matter is covered under a set of workplace Torts. Ineffective administrative communication leads to frustration and the buildup of stress within the organization. A major reason for this could be the legal principle of “Respondeat Superior” which places the responsibility of the activities of the employee on the superior or the manager.

Thus, the senior – junior relationship is constantly strained and is one of perpetual scrutiny rather than warmth or affection.At one extreme of this we have the tendency among some in power to abuse their position through threats, abuse, intimidation and retaliatory discharge, all of which are cause of legal action. In an effort to reduce the probability of wrongful discharge, some states, such as Connecticut, Montana, Maine and Michigan have enacted legislation that protects employees from terminations that are found to be arbitrary and capricious (Pozgar & Santucci, 2007).

At the other end, the employees themselves should ethically adhere to a strict code of conduct that respects patient specific and facility specific information. Also, the court enunciated a corporate negligence doctrine in 1965 under the Darling Vs Charleston Community Memorial Hospital which stated clearly that a hospital has the duty to provide an adequately trained medical and nursing staff. Legal statues and workplace torts require that employers must communicate clearly to prospective employees that their employment is at will and can be terminated at any time by either the employer or the employee.

This shall encourage the employee to work properly as well as clear any misconceptions that may arise later. In recent years however, the rule that employment for an indefinite term is terminable by the employer whenever and for whatever cause he chooses without incurring liability has been subject of considerable scholarly debate and judicial and legislative modification. As an addendum, the public policy exception to the Employment at Will doctrine provides that employees may not be terminated for reasons that are contrary to public policy.

For example, legislative enactments prohibit the discharge of employees on the basis of disability, age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, pregnancy, filing of safety violation with various agencies etc.Empirical study suggests that in organizations that have adopted and enforced a code of conduct, the employees are less prone to wrong doing (Somers, 2001). Key to this is the requirement that the employees themselves be aware of the content of their specific code of ethics. Huber (1996) suggest that over the years, the hospital employee’s ways of viewing themselves change and go through five phases: being confronted, assuming a stance, going through it, living the consequences, and re-envisioning.

This presents the dark side of nursing, in that the employee is under constant workplace stress affecting his or her productivity. Only a better channel for grievance redressal can remedy the situation.ReferencesHuber, D. (1996). Leadership and Nursing Care Management. Saunders.Pozgar, G. D., & Santucci, N. M. (2007). Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.Somers, M. J. (2001). Ethical Codes of Conduct and Organizational Context:A Study of the Relationship Between Codes of Conduct,Employee Behavior and Organizational Values.

Journal of Business Ethics , 185 - 195.Wallis, D., & Wolff, C. J. (1988). Stress and Organisational Problems in Hospitals: Implications for Management. Routledge.