Safety and Ethics in Healthcare: A Guide to Getting it Right

Author: Bill Runciman
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1317060008
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
As more and more people survive into old age, the burden of caring for them becomes greater and greater. Although it is now possible to alleviate many of the afflictions that beset mankind, no society can afford to pay for all the healthcare that is now available or technically possible. People working in healthcare increasingly have to do more with less. Rationing takes many forms, mostly covert, and the less privileged in most societies end up struggling to get their proper share of the available healthcare resources. All too often, those in the front-line have to deal with the consequences of this 'rationing by default': healthcare professionals find themselves rushed off their feet simply doing the basic tasks and completing all the paperwork; placing frail, sick people in ever lengthening queues, sometimes asking them to wait for hours in the middle of the night under uncomfortable and even unsafe conditions; and, worst of all, working under conditions they would rather avoid in which the safety margin for those they are caring for has been greatly diminished. We are all aware that under these conditions the chance of making a mistake which can seriously harm or even lead to the death of a patient is greatly increased. But what can be done about this? How can you be sure that you are doing the right thing when faced with having to practise an uncertain science on vulnerable patients in a complex system under ever-changing conditions? At what point could you cross the invisible line from reasonable to irresponsible or unethical behaviour by tolerating conditions or tacitly accepting practices which may be regarded as unacceptable, even though you may have little immediate control over them? This book is a guide to getting it right for healthcare professionals. It is about doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, for the right people. These are the dimensions of quality in healthcare, and although some are in conflict (equitable access and efficiency, for example), adherence to ethical practice and professional behaviour will help lead healthcare practitioners through the minefield of responsibilities and priorities. Real-life situations are integral to the book, with over 500 clinical examples referred to within the text.

Safety and Ethics in Healthcare: A Guide to Getting it Right

Author: Professor Alan Merry
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1409485005
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Book Description
A single coherent source of information on the various interlinking domains of patient safety, litigation and ethical behaviour, based on accounts of real-life situations and intended for all healthcare students, specialists and administrators.

Health Workforce Governance

Author: Stephanie D. Short
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317123255
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
With increasing recognition of the international market in health professionals and the impact of globalism on regulation, the governance of the health workforce is moving towards greater public engagement and increased transparency. This book discusses the challenges posed by these processes such as improved access to health services and how structures can be reformed so that good practice is upheld and quality of service and patient safety are ensured. With contributions from regulators, academics, lawyers and health professionals, this book presents arguments from multiple perspectives. Of global relevance, it brings together concerns about access, quality and safety within the framework of the health workforce governance continuum and will be of interest to policy makers, regulators, health professionals, academics legal practitioners, insurers, students and researchers.

Improving Health Care Safety and Quality

Author: Judith Healy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317118219
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Book Description
Responding to the public concern caused by recent hospital scandals and accounts of unintended harm to patients, this author draws on her experience of analysing the health care systems of over a dozen countries and examines whether greater regulation has increased patient safety and health care quality. The book adopts a new approach to mapping developments in health care systems in Europe, North America and Australia and pieces together evidence of which regulatory strategies and mechanisms work well to ensure safer patient care. It identifies the regulatory bodies, the regulatory principles and the implementation strategies adopted to improve governance in health care systems and suggests a conceptual framework for responsive regulation. The book will be of interest to government actors, health care professionals and medico-legal scholars.

Being a Doctor

Author: Hamish Wilson
Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
ISBN: 0850843758
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Book Description
Being a Doctor is much more than simply providing medical care. This book aims to increase the resilience and wellness of doctors, helping the profession to provide better care for patients, through a deep and thoughtful approach to clinical work. It explores areas that can challenge clinicians in all stages of their career: the doctor - patient relationship, adverse outcomes, the 'heartsink' experience, and functional illness. The authors also introduce self-care of the doctor and patient safety, two important issues for modern medicine. This is a unique text that draws links between the philosophy of modern medicine and clinical tasks such as consulting skills, the doctor patient relationship, patient safety, reflective practice and doctors' self care. It is written in an accessible style and is firmly grounded in real-life clinical and teaching experience. The authors believe each doctor, as a person, is inseparable from the task of delivering medical care. Enhancing our ability to deliver that care is essential for patients, communities and society. Just as patients need 'whole person' care, the profession needs 'whole person' doctors. Being a doctor, and deriving meaning from clinical experience, are at the heart of this book.

Improving Healthcare Team Communication

Author: Dr Christopher P Nemeth
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1409485617
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
Communications research in aviation is widely regarded by many in the healthcare community as the 'gold standard' to emulate. Yet healthcare and aviation differ in many ways, as do the vital communications shared among members of clinical teams. Aviation team communication should, then, be understood in terms of what lessons will benefit those who work in healthcare. In Improving Healthcare Team Communication, renowned experts provide insights from 'sharp end' operator research in high-hazard sectors that shed light on the performance of cognitive tasks including resource availability assessment, allocation, anticipation, prediction, trade-off decisions, speculation and negotiation. The book reports on recent field research to address what is known, and what needs to be learned, about team communication among operators. Students, clinicians and healthcare managers can find answers in it to the questions they face daily. How can healthcare information be better shared? What can we expect from its improvement, and how do we get there? Lessons learned from team communication research and experience in aviation and healthcare will point the way to improved patient safety.

Patient Safety in Emergency Medicine

Author: Pat Croskerry
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ISBN: 9780781777278
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 456

Book Description
With the increased emphasis on reducing medical errors in an emergency setting, this book will focus on patient safety within the emergency department, where preventable medical errors often occur. The book will provide both an overview of patient safety within health care—the 'culture of safety,' importance of teamwork, organizational change—and specific guidelines on issues such as medication safety, procedural complications, and clinician fatigue, to ensure quality care in the ED. Special sections discuss ED design, medication safety, and awareness of the 'culture of safety.'

Medical Law and Medical Ethics

Author: Nils Hoppe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107015227
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Book Description
Conveys all the core topics emphasising the interplay between medical law and medical ethics in a unique chapter structure.

Reconstructing Medical Practice

Author: Christine Jorm
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317070240
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Book Description
Reconstructing Medical Practice examines how doctors see health care and their place in it, why they remain in medicine and why they are limited in their ability to lead change in the current system. Doctors are beset by doubts and feel rejected by systems where they should be leaders - some see their role as 'flog[ging] a derelict system to get the last breath of workability out ... for their patients'. Others simply turn away. Rigorous studies carried out at large public teaching hospitals in Australia found that doctors were reluctant to increase safety in the wider health system, despite making every effort for their 'own' patients. Doctors' self-esteem was found to be delicate due to the uncertain nature of their work; colleagues provide the support doctors need to deliver good care. However, these essential relationships and their cherished connections with patients have disadvantages: reducing doctors' ability to admit to error. On top of this, senior doctors predict a future bereft of professional values - one where medicine is 'just a job'. While the loss of professional identity introduces new risks for patients and doctors, the repercussions of the more self-serving attitudes of younger doctors are unknown. Reconstructing Medical Practice concludes that regulation, despite its recent proliferation, is a clumsy and limited approach to ensuring good care. It presents original and much-needed ideas for ways to rebuild the critical relationship between doctors and the system. By better valuing communicative interactions and workplace relationships, safe and satisfying medical practice can be reconstructed.

How to Teach Using Simulation in Healthcare

Author: Mike Davis
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119130727
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
How to Teach Using Simulation in Healthcare provides an ideal introduction and easy-to-use guide to simulation in medical education. Written by a team of experienced medical educators, this practical text – packed full of case examples and tips – is underpinned by the theory of simulation in education, and explores how to integrate simulation into teaching. Key topics include: Use of low, medium and high fidelity equipment Issues of simulation mapping and scenario design Role of human factors Formative and summative assessment New social media and technologies Detailed explorations of some examples of simulation. How to Teach Using Simulation in Healthcare is invaluable reading for all healthcare professionals interested and involved in the origins, theoretical underpinnings, and design implications of the use of simulation in medical education.