Philosophy 365: Biomedical Ethics

February 13, 2014

Philosophy 365: Biomedical Ethics

Section 1

Position Paper #1

        Dr. Lewondowski should recommend Mr. Kagawa to speak with the cardiology consultant. Though it will cost Dr. Lewondowski’s budget to call in a specialist, not doing so could cause Mr. Kagawa to lose the trust he has in Dr. Lewondowski if she were to send him home and he were to develop a serious problem. Secondly it is part of Dr. Lewondowski’s job as a health care professional to inform Mr. Kagawa of his best option for treatment. Whether she disagrees with him personally, it is an essential skill of physicians to be able to inform their patients of all options, and not just the one that they deem fit for the patient. Howard Brody addresses a similar issue in Transparency: Informed Consent in Primary Care. In “Medical Professionalism in Society”, by Mathew Wynia he talks about medical professionalism and the erosion of trust between patients and physicians.  

        A cardiology consultant should be called in for Mr. Kagawa because it is the duty of medical professionals to give aid to those who need it regardless of what they personally feel about the patients. Mathew Wynia talks about how over the years patients have lost faith in physicians, because of their lack of professionalism and how they appear to be acting for their personal benefit rather than that of the patient. Wynia also talks about devotion to medical service as a physician saying that, “Physicians should cultivate in themselves and in their peers a devotion to health care values by placing the goals of individual and public health ahead of other goals,” (Wynia 1999). If Dr. Lewondowski was to send Mr. Kagawa home, she would only be doing it for the benefit of not having to foot the expensive price of a cardiology consult, rather than believing this to be the most effective solution; she wouldn’t be placing the goals of Mr. Kagawa’s health above her goal of saving the money in her budget. Also, if she followed that route, she would not be conducting herself in a professional manner due to the fact that she would allow herself to be blinded by Mr. Kagawa’s history of being overly cautious and make a decision that is spurred by personal feelings and not professional opinion.

        As Mr. Kagawa’s physician, Dr. Lewondowski has the moral responsibility to inform Mr. Kagawa of his best option if she wants him to trust her and her decisions as a medical professional. In Transparency: Informed Consent in Primary Care, Howard Brody talks about how many health care professionals fail to fully inform patients of all options which leaves them open to counter-measures if patients find another option that the physician failed to mention. If Dr. Lewondowski simply sent Mr. Kagawa home without explaining that she believes a cardiology consultant to not be worth the price, she would be leaving herself open to a lawsuit if Mr. Kagawa happened to develop severe symptoms and realize that a consult would have been beneficial. Without being informed of the reasoning and risks, Mr. Kagawa would have every right for said lawsuit.