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Breaches of Ethical Procedures in Health Care
Breaches of any sort create feelings of distrust, emotional pain and controversy, but in the
healthcare profession, the emotional damage seems to be greater because of the level of trust
patients put in those administering the care and who promise to protect the patient’s information.
According to K. Judson and C. Harrison (2010), the definition of ethics is the “standards
of behavior, developed as a result of one’s concept of right and wrong,” while “moral values are
formed through the influences of the family, culture and society- serve as the basis for ethical
conduct,” (p.9) and a procedure is a particular way of accomplishing something or of acting.”
(merriam-webster.com)
Even though ethics and morals appear to be intricately intertwined, the assumption is
that healthcare workers hold higher standards than most other professionals, mostly in part
because patient’s are in a weak position and view providers as highly regarded. How often do
patients and/or family members consult with providers and treat the consultation as an interview,
by asking questions such as when the provider graduated from medical school, where did he/she
rank in the graduating class, how many surgeries has the provider performed, has anyone ever
filed suit against him/her, and the questions can go on and on. Most people do not because the
assumption is that to question the provider would create a sense of distrust, but in reality, most
healthcare workers welcome questions, and are more than willing to share information.
America is a melting pot of diversity, so if ethics are a standard of behaviors based on an
individual’s concept of right or wrong, would it not seem logical to assume that based on a
person’s culture and social environment, his/her ethics may not align with every potential
patient? What if a person was born and grew up in Africa within a family and community which
practiced witchcraft, then moved to the United States to study medicine; became an MD and
used witchcraft in addition to methodologies cohesive to Western practices, but did not disclose
to his/her patient’s his/her additional methods of practicing medicine? Would this be considered
a breach of ethics? Based on the definition, it would not. The same question can be asked
regarding of a practitioner who believes in God, a Higher Power, Allah, Mohammad, etc. and
prays for his/her patients. Would it be considered as a breach of ethical practices for this
information to not be disclosed? What may be ethical practices to one person may not have the
same meaning to someone else.
According to the Hippocratic Oath, translated by M. North states, “I swear by Apollo the
physician, and Asclepius, and Hygieia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses as my
