Financial Compensation and Ethical Issues In Healthcare Essay

Financial Compensation and Ethical Issues In Healthcare - Essay Example The goal of these restructurings was in the provision of access to high quality and effective health care to all individuals. This goal has however faced challenges from market-driven forces that characterize the healthcare system. Such factors include the reduction in costs, reduced utilization of resources and maximization of revenues. The result has been in the mismanaged care. The American Nurses Association in 1995 released a document that highlighted the ethical issues in healthcare. These issues included lack of coordinated care, misuse of financial incentives and decrease in the number of registered nurses. The association also noted a decline in the American healthcare system in a document published in 1996.Some ethical practices which the associations highlighted include the lack of full disclosure, gag rules and compensation plans that rewarded the withholding of nursing services. The healthcare workforce in the American labor market has grown tremendously in the last ten years. This large workforce is now faced with the market-driven forces that seem beyond their control. These forces threaten the closure of some hospitals and retrenchment of workers. The resulting job insecurity brings forth fear of job changes, losses and increased hiring of unlicensed health personnel. The decrease in demand for registered nurses results in reduced and inequitable financial compensation available for them. Financial compensation, ethical issues, and health care delivery systems are related to resource allocation. Application of ethical methods of resource allocation is, as a result, vital. The utilitarian ethical theory and the moral principles of justice are theories that seek to establish the best fit between the scarce resources and financial compensation. The utilitarian theory advocates for the greatest good, for the greatest number. This approach contrasts the existing situation in the U.S. Despite the healthcare workforce constituting