Evaluate the impact of ethical decision-making

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Reference no: EM132327642

Assignment 1: Ethics and Decision-Making in the VA Healthcare System

Course Outcome: Evaluate the impact of ethical decision-making on healthcare leadership to maximize strategic planning

Unit Outcomes

• Discuss the principles of ethics and medical professionalism in strategic planning.

• Examine the role of leaders in ethical decision-making and problem-solving strategies in the U.S.health system.

GEL-7.7: Analyze the effects of ethical decision making on the field of study.

Assignment: Case Study: Problems at the VA Health System

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed retired Army Chief of Staff, General Eric Shinseki, to theposition of secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), the federal department responsible for providing healthcareand federal benefits to U.S. veterans and dependents. As part of its strategic plan, Secretary Shinseki wastasked with implementing 16 major initiatives to bring the VA into the 21st century. One of the 16 initiativeswas the enhancement of the veteran's experience with and access to healthcare.

In 2013, CNN was among the news outlets reporting that veterans were experiencing delayed care at theWilliams Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Medical Center in Columbia, SC. In fact, the delays were so seriousthat six veterans died while waiting for months to receive necessary diagnostic procedures. The VA launchedan investigation into the GI clinic at Dorn and found several issues, including low staff census; leadershipturnover that resulted in a lack of understanding of roles, responsibilities and system processes; andineffective program coordination. Allegations of long wait times also emerged from VA facilities in Arizona,Pittsburgh, and the Phoenix VA Health Care System. Delays, however, were not the only shortcomingsalleged. In the Phoenix VA Health Care System, for instance, there were claims of manipulated patient waittimes, bad scheduling practices, and patient deaths.

In 2014, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) launched an investigation into theseallegations. Two questions were addressed in this review:

1. Did the facility's electronic wait list (EWL) purposely omit the names of veterans waiting forcare and, if so, at whose direction?

2. Were the deaths of any of these veterans related to delays in care?

The investigators confirmed "inappropriate scheduling issues throughout the VA and health care system"(VA 2014, iii).

In the Phoenix VA, specifically, investigators found that 1,400 veterans did not have a primary careappointment but were listed on the EWL. It was also determined that 1,700 veterans were waiting for a primarycare appointment but were not listed on the EWL. Because veterans were not on the EWL system, thePhoenix leadership significantly understated the time new patients waited for the appointments. Theinvestigators found that the average wait time was 115 days for the first primary care appointment and about84 percent of these patients waited more than 14 days.The Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified multiple types of scheduling practices that were not incompliance with Veterans Health Administration policy. Since the multiple lists found were something otherthan the official EWL, the additional lists may be the basis for allegations of "secret" wait lists.

Secretary Shinseki called the findings "reprehensible" and resigned from his post on May 30,2014.

Case Study Questions

1. From a leadership perspective, analyze the problems at the VA relative to ethical decision-making practices.

2. Discuss the ethical issue of having 1,700 veterans, who were not listed on the EWL, wait for a primary careappointment at the Phoenix VA. Create at least two (2) policies/standards to ensure ethical leadershippractices with respect to improving coordination of the EWL and primary care appointments.

3. Explain why Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned his position. Identify at least two (2) alternative options thatSecretary Shinseki could have taken to resolve the unethical decision-making practices in this case study.

4. Apply the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Code of Ethics to the VA Health Systemcase study.

Requirements: • Please complete Assignment in a Microsoft Word® document.

• The body of your document should be at least 1500 words in length.

• Quoting should be less than 10% of the entire paper. Paraphrasing is necessary.

• Students must cite and reference at least four credible sources.

• APA format is required.

Reference no: EM132327642

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