Armando Dimas Essay

Armando Dimas
Life in the emergency room is can be fast paced, with decisions made by healthcare professionals who need to consider the basic ethical principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy and justice. These principles are resources designed and intended to provide a comprehensive understanding, guidance and rules of conduct to ensure an ethical and legal decision is made, regardless of the medical staffs subjective view of what is right and wrong (Tong, 2007, p. 7)
Ethics are rules of conduct and moral principles of an individual which have various origins such as family, culture, and social environment. Given the diversity of people in the healthcare profession and the importance of providing care that is ethically sound …show more content…
In Armando’s case, his care quickly became a financial burden to the hospital, as he had no insurance. It appears the hospital did make an earnest attempt to provide all the care it was capable of, even including a special wheel chair. They were adhering to the principles of justice mentioned above.
But eventually the attempt to maintain these ethical standards became too great for the hospital. They had to weigh the large burden of one patient against the many who would be denied care if they continued to absorb the cost of Armando’s care. The decision was made to transfer him to a less expensive facility, Barts.
As it turns out, this was a good decision because Armando was very pleased with the environment and care he received. He stayed at Barts four and one half years, happily. This would indicate that Barts was adhering to the ethical principles of nonmaleficence, beneficence and also justice, as they too were providing expensive care as well, for an uninsured patient. However, after over four years the cost of treatment reached $750,000 and they too could no longer absorb to financial burden. Like the previous hospital, Barts had to weigh the cost, need, equal share and ability to pay of one patient versus all of the other patients in their care.
The decision was made to send Armando home, to be cared for by his family. They were giving one month to learn how to care for him. The family was not

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