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Article
An Ethical Analysis of Contemporary Healthcare Practices and Issues
Online Journal of Health Ethics (2008)
  • Gerald Mark Breen, University of Central Florida
  • Michael Loyal, University of Central Florida
  • Vanessa Littleton, University of Central Florida
  • Binyam Seblega, University of Central Florida
  • Seung Chun Paek, University of Central Florida
Abstract
The purpose of this analysis is to examine specific segments of healthcare policy and practice, applying various ethical perspectives. We examine the economic and political influences that surround ethical behavior in health services, as well as how practitioners, patients, and families respond and act as a result of such influences. We then delve into the fundamental principles that guide ethical behavior by medical practitioners, including the Hippocratic Oath and vows of medical professionalism. Further, we analyze disparities in healthcare provisions based on gender, race, and ethnicity. Ethical theory is weaved into each of these sections, as the philosophical and ethical writings of prominent scholars illuminate how the conditions of contemporary healthcare administration are affected by the injustices and political influences that pervade the entire health services industry.
Keywords
  • Ethics,
  • Health Services,
  • Justice,
  • Patients,
  • Physicians,
  • Professionalism
Publication Date
2008
DOI
10.18785/ojhe.0502.03
Citation Information
Breen, G. M., Loyal, M., Littleton, V., Seblega, B., Paek, S. C., Meemon, N., Ellis, N., & Wan, T. T. (2008). An Ethical Analysis of Contemporary Healthcare Practices and Issues . Online Journal of Health Ethics, 5(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.18785/ojhe.0502.03