While law controls numerous medicine capacities, medical practitioners should comprehend the legal context they need to perform ethically. Giwa (2018) states that there is a fallacy in the role of medicine and ethics in society. He resounded most with the misconception that ethics portrays an utmost concept of fairness and justice for individuals. At the same time, the law is the lawmaking authority that represents humanity’s moralities at a given time. Ethics signifies the cultured moral dimension of a particular society while the law comes slowly behind it, that is why law changes from culture to culture. The author agrees with most viewpoints regarding medical laws and ethics and disagrees with certain generalized opinions that may be misleading regarding both concepts. The stated opinions illustrate the current viewpoints and theories regarding applying law and ethics in healthcare management. While one might push the narrative that ethics precedes the law, one should agree that best medical practices are set upon law and ethical standards. The ideas represented in the article show an overview of present attitudes.
The article, “Healthcare Ethics and the Law – Why Law Pervades Medicine,” appeared in the Journal of Community Medicine Publication. The nature of the information provided in the article is a representation of the author’s opinion. The type of information used in any article shows the author’s intention. Giwa (2018) uses his viewpoint to persuade the readers and make them form a belief. The view given is subjective because it shows the author’s own interpretation of ideas and thoughts from the refereed text. The subjected outlook shows polished and informed thinking from years of experience in the medical and legal field. This kind of information gives an objective judgment of ideas and reflects facts and findings. The presented information is reliable because it shows that the sentiments are not biased. Though it can be verified as true or false, it is nearly impossible to verify whether opinions are accurate apart from when the thoughts are based on documented, effective, and dependable facts.
As the author mentions, the principle of western medicine of beneficence and non-maleficence originate from a historical patient-practitioner relationship. Nowadays, patients play a more significant role in the decision-making process of healthcare and treatment. However, in some non-western cultures, such as Islamic ethics, less emphasis is placed on autonomy, and beneficence is underweighted. From this observation, Giwa’s (2018) statement that the author of “Why Law Pervades Medicine: An Essay on Ethics in Health Care” confuses societies that consent to paternalistic medical cultures as being the same as beneficence/non-maleficence is inarguable. In the recent years, paternalism has governed medical practices and has placed a person’s interests of decision-making behind those of medicine. Though medical ethics is closely connected to law, the two are not the same. Concerning the ethics of beneficence and non-maleficence may, on a specific occasion, mean failing to esteem a person’s autonomy. This statement conflicts with the ideas and viewpoints that beneficence and non-maleficence ethics aim to do right and have all along respected a patient’s autonomy.
Moreover, the defining role of a physician is to make decisions concerning a person’s care in different situational settings. While these decisions include more than choosing a conducive treatment method or involvement, the application of law and ethics go hand in hand. As the discipline and technology of medicine further increase the aptitudes of medics and develop the arena of health care, the responsibility of health care ethics is transforming. It will only continue to grow in prominence. Law and ethics can be applied in governing how organizations may treat their patients and medical practitioners. Every business should form and implement a code of operations and procedures to guide its processes.
From a personal point of view, ethics gives a higher custom of conduct than law. Furthermore, laws that govern medical practices differ from society to society, while ethical codes apply irrespective of community. To take care of patients and meet their expectations, medical specialists should know the critical standards of medicine, which care about beneficence and non-maleficence, as well as autonomy. I agree with Giwa’s (2018) views that “some of us did/do not need the law to make us do the right thing for our parents” (p. 2). The values and respect we possess as human beings should be the basis for exercising human rights and regarding medicine. In no doubt, I acknowledge the connection between medical ethics and the law in healthcare and its role in healthcare delivery.
Finally, individuals need to know and recognize the rights that determine the quality of healthcare. Ultimately, all healthcare workers should know that there is a need to recognize the old-fashioned awareness of medical ethics and law. In contrast, the essential position of medical practitioners is their dedication to patients as their main responsibility and a primary point of ethics. A different ethical viewpoint pervades medical law, retiring from norms founded on paternalism and observing that the medical occupation is all-knowing. The outcome is exemplified by altered opinions in the legislature and the law courts to acknowledging the prominence of patients’ autonomy.
Reference
Giwa A. (2018). Healthcare ethics and the law – Why law pervades medicine. Journal of Community Medicine, 2(1007), 1-2. Web.