Maintain Legal and Ethical Work Practices
write an essay that focuses on the legal and ethical aspects of generalized Allied Health and Community
Services provision, using practical examples wherever possible. Consider the following in your essay:
?Principles and practices for upholding the rights of the client, including children and young people
?Principles and practices of confidentiality
?Principles of access and equity relevant to provision of community services
?Principles of ethical decision-making
Introduction
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The allied healthcare workforce remains an essential element in the healthcare fraternity
since the demand for these services increase immensely with the ageing of the population, an
increase in emphasis on multidisciplinary delivery care and the increasing burden of chronic
diseases. Allied health professionals include dietitians, physical therapists, radiographers,
occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists (Aliakbari, Hammad, Bahrami, &
Aein, 2015). It is, therefore, essential to note that allied health professionals are healthcare
workers equipped with formal education on clinical matters and are credentialed through
licensure, certification and registration. These health practitioners are therefore expected to
deliver high-quality patient care services that are geared towards identifying, preventing, and
treating diseases, disorders and disabilities.
On the other hand, the law and ethics plays a fundamental role since they ensure that
workers are committed towards practicing positive values. The workforce is also guided by the
law and ethics in ensuring that they abide by the standards that have been enacted. Ethics refers
to the values and belief systems within the allied healthcare workforce since they entail the
regulations that are put in place to ensure the society is prevented from harms and that they can
live healthy lifestyles (Aliakbari, et.al). Ethics has the capacity to promote training and education
since it assists individuals to develop their skills to compete and to achieve the response to moral
actions. Metaethics, which entails moral judgments and decision-making process, involves a
critical and analytical thinking on considering what is good, right, or ethical within the practice.
This paper, therefore, seeks to identify the ethical aspects of the generalized Allied Health and
Community Service in the provision of health care service to a community.
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Legal and Ethical Aspects of Generalized Allied Health and Community Services
Provision
It is essential to note that ethics has the ability to guide the standards of moral judgment
and professional development. The allied healthcare workforces are expected to remain
accountable to patients, employees, public, and the entire profession. This, therefore, requires
that the allied health care providers have a solid understanding of the legal and ethical
proponents they face in their fields of practice (Castro-Atwater, & Hohnbaum, 2015). Allied
Health Care Practitioners, therefore, have the responsibility to ensure that adequate care to all
patients, ensure that confidentiality is maintained including autonomy.
With this, it is essential to note that in this professional practice, there are times when
legal duties may be breached during practice. The ever changing values in the healthcare sector,
the society, and behaviors in science typically point out to the need that allied medical
practitioners are equipped with the ethical and legal issues and learn how to appropriately
respond to such situations.
Legal Aspects of Generalized Health
Within legal frameworks, it is essential to mention that there are statutory laws that are
defined within the healthcare fraternity that includes some jurisdictions. For instance, in the
USA, there are some states that allow an individual to employ the services of an attorney of
welfare in making medical treatment decisions in the case the person becomes incompetent
(Castro-Atwater, & Hohnbaum, 2015). This clearly indicates that every individual has the right
to decide on matters health in their own lives without any interference. They also have the right
to choose a suitable medical treatment method that suits them and is consensual.
MAINTAIN LEGAL AND ETHICAL WORK PRACTICES 4
Case law also remains another element in monitoring the ethical standards of allied health
care professional within the medical profession. As a result of this, several instances have been
heard particularly of patients refusing to undertake medical treatments, and the use of embryos
that are frozen for IVF. In some states, nobody has the right to consent treatment for an
incompetent adult, a factor that forces the courts to make declarations mainly for the interests of
patients including the overall medical practice (Drake, & Drake, 2010). It is, therefore, essential
to note that nurses need sound understanding associated with the legal and ethical principles in
order to make appropriate judgments that are in line with the law. This can be best understood
through the implementation of stringent education and teaching procedures before practicing in
Allied Health and Community Services Provision to ensure that the practitioners apply the
required principles in health care and ethics.
Ethics;
Ethics according to sources are the philosophies that determine the right and wrong as
related to an individual’s actions and decisions. However if this is applied in a Generalized
Allied Health and Community Services Provision Program, it has the capacity to compete with
other realities such as the increase in responsibilities, and time constraints that are put upon the
allied healthcare professionals (Drake, & Drake, 2010). It is essential to note that the manner in
which individuals interpret ethics like beliefs, and morals. It is also vital to mention that ethics
remains a general concern that is implied by the laws and standards of practice.
One major ethical issue that stands out in practice is confidentiality. In this, there has
been a considerable amount of worry in providing services to the society particularly when it
comes to the divulgence of patient’s information (Huff, & Furchert, 2014). Maintaining and
protecting patient’s privacy and confidential information remains a matter that is covered by the
MAINTAIN LEGAL AND ETHICAL WORK PRACTICES 5
law and is governed by the regulatory body of the health fraternity. It is, therefore, important to
patients are given the freedom to make their decisions in regards to confidentiality and are
allowed to consider who to share the information with efficiently.
Principles and Practices of Confidentiality
A patient’s right to privacy remains a paramount factor that is enshrined in the Protection
Act, and additionally it is a Human Right Act. Confidentiality, therefore, requires an individual
to respect a person’s right to privacy. It is also essential that respect to human relationships is
adhered to in sharing personal information (Huff, & Furchert, 2014). Allied medical practitioners
are also required to appreciate the importance of maintaining confidentiality to the society and
individuals.
It is, therefore, essential that allied medical health professionals maintain physical and
administrative functions that ensure confidential information is protected against unauthorized
access. There should be proper structures placed towards ensuring that individuals are informed
how their health information is used and disclosed and that they have access to information as
well (Noriega, & Drew, 2013). A written authorization from the patients should also be provided
that ensures that information is disclosed for required purposes.
Principles of Access and Equity
Given the essence of these principles, to provide quality health care to the community,
there are several responsibilities and laws that need to be adhered to substantially. The actions
that are required to be observed include allowing every person to access allied health care
regardless of their origin, sex, disability, language, birth, culture and sexual orientation (Noriega,
& Drew, 2013). The allied health care facilities also have the obligation of ensuring that services
MAINTAIN LEGAL AND ETHICAL WORK PRACTICES 6
are delivered and developed on the basis of fairness on the patients. Efforts should also be made
that ensure factors such as disability, religion, race, gender, cultural background, or even sexual
orientation do not lead to the unequal treatment of patients seeking care.
Principles of Ethical Decision-Making
In the field of practice, allied healthcare professionals are bound to encounter several
ethical issues. An ethical dilemma remains one of the complex situations that emerge from the
conflicts that arise between complying with the moral obligations (Suk Bong, Ullah, & Won Jun,
2015). Nurses are therefore required to conduct ethical and decision-making processes required
in directing moral actions in situations.
This, therefore, requires practitioners to involve the use of moral components such as the
basis, claim, evidence, warrant, rebuttal and ethical decision making in order to resolve conflicts
efficiently. Allied healthcare professionals are at all times required to promote the independence
of patients by respecting their informed decisions concerning their care.
Conclusion
The allied healthcare workforce remains an essential element in the healthcare fraternity
since the demand for these services increase immensely with the ageing of the population, an
increase in emphasis on multidisciplinary delivery care and the increasing burden of chronic
diseases. These health practitioners are therefore expected to deliver high-quality patient care
services that are geared towards identifying, preventing, and treating diseases, disorders and
disabilities. In order to achieve this, the allied healthcare workforces are expected to remain
accountable to patients, employees, public, and the entire profession. This, therefore, requires
that allied health care providers consider both the legal and ethical issues that revolve around the
provision of quality health services to the community.
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The legal aspects require that legal frameworks are permanently adhered to in practice. It
is, therefore, essential to note that nurses need sound understanding associated with the legal and
ethical principles in order to make appropriate judgments that are in line with the law. On the
other hand, ethics requires that the allied health care facilities maintain the required ethical
standards in practice. It is, therefore, necessary to note that the manner in which individuals
interpret ethics like beliefs, and morals. In addition to this, ethics should remain a universal
concept that is governed by the law and regulate the standards of practice. These factors,
therefore, remain indispensable in providing quality healthcare services to the community by the
allied healthcare providers.
References
Aliakbari, F., Hammad, K., Bahrami, M., & Aein, F. (2015). Ethical and legal challenges
associated with disaster nursing. Nursing Ethics, 22(4), 493-503.
doi:10.1177/0969733014534877
Castro-Atwater, S. A., & Hohnbaum, A. H. (2015). A Conceptual Framework Of “Top 5” Ethical
Lessons For The Helping Professions. Education,135(3), 271-278.
Drake, B. H., & Drake, E. (2010). Ethical and Legal Aspects of Managing Corporate
Cultures. California Management Review, 30(2), 107-123.
Huff, C., & Furchert, A. (2014). Computing Ethics Toward a Pedagogy of Ethical
Practice. Communications Of The ACM,57(7), 25-27.
Noriega, P., & Drew, M. T. (2013). Ethical Leadership and Dilemmas in the
Workplace. Consortium Journal Of Hospitality & Tourism, 18(2), 34-48
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Suk Bong, C., Ullah, S. E., & Won Jun, K. (2015). Ethical Leadership And Followers’ Attitudes
Toward Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role Of Perceived Ethical Work
Climate. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 43(3), 353-365.
