What Are the Principles of Home & Health Care Ethics?
Your elderly loved one is guaranteed to benefit from receiving quality health & home care in Calabasas. You are likely to be fully committed to conducting an in-depth search so to find the best caregivers and healthcare providers in the area. But before you go in pursuit of the leading healthcare professionals and experts providing home care in Calabasas and surrounding areas, you should have a clearly defined idea of what quality home and health care represents.
Quality patient and home care has to lead to the optimal outcome, one that is in the best interest of the patient and their physical and mental wellbeing. This is the ultimate goal of homecare and health care.
That said, there are certain criteria that any healthcare and home care professionals you end up choosing have to meet, and acting in accordance with ethical principles is one such criterion. It goes without saying that upholding the principles of ethics in the domain of home and healthcare is just as important as qualifications, experience and expertise.
Why are ethical principles important in healthcare?
Ethics and professionalism are the cornerstones of quality healthcare, and the same goes for the field of home care: quality and ethics go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other, as the objective remains the same: contributing to the wellbeing of the care recipient.
Nevertheless, families and the elderly are justified in feeling skeptical about hiring a stranger and welcoming them into their home, regardless of their qualifications. This is just one of the reasons why asking for background information and performing reference checks prior to engaging the services of a home or health care provider is imperative.
What are the principles of health care ethics?
There are four clearly defined principles of ethics in health care and their ultimate goal is to ensure maximum safety and care of patients. These are as follows:
- Autonomy
This principle stipulates that the patient must be given autonomy when making decisions concerning healthcare procedures and treatment. Is is of paramount importance that the patient be given all the necessary information so as to make an informed decision, fully aware of the risks, implications, benefits and the likelihood of success. In other words, the patient reserves the sole right of control over their own body. The healthcare provider can provide advice, recommendations or suggestions, but they must not force the patient to reach or comply with a certain decision, even if they believe it to be in the patient’s best interest.
- Justice
The principle of justice demands fairness in all medical decisions, in terms of fair and equal distribution of resources and new treatments, acting in compliance with the law, etc.
- Beneficence
The basic requirement of this principle is that every action be performed in the best interest of a patient. In other words, every action must benefit the patient. Likewise, actions must be taken on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the individual patients’ needs.
- Non-maleficence
Similar to the principle above, the “do no harm” principle stipulates that the medical procedure must not cause harm to the patient themselves or any other member of society (even if this would benefit the patient).
Do the same principles apply in the domain of home care?
Caregivers may not provide medical care, but their ultimate goal is the same: ensuring the safety and protection of care recipients. Responsible caregivers will therefore not only act in accordance to the highest professional standards, but also uphold to all of the above ethical principles.
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Reaching the realization that your elderly loved one can no longer cope on their own might feel you with a sense of dread. You might think you are not strong enough to help them push through. Remember that you are not alone. A Better Way in Home Care is the answer you have been looking for.
We will introduce you to the leading home care professionals in the area who have an ethical, compassionate approach to the persons in their care. We are at your service, ready to make the life better and easier for you and those you love. Give us a call today.