Avoid

Most disputes that arise in healthcare can be avoided with identification of issues and prospective development of practices and policies to govern such events. For example, many patient care controversies are foreseeable. The prospective implementation of policies to govern such situations is critical to prevent the situation from escalating out of control. Hence, ethics consults and committees were created in recent years to provide an appropriate and organized approach to address the concerns of all parties and seek reasonable solutions. Few issues will arise in a healthcare setting which can not be foreseen and therefore, reasonable approaches can be implemented that will guide providers and patients in these difficult situations. These issues range from treatment decisions, to discrimination allegations, privacy and bad outcomes.