The central ethical issue Essay Example for Free

The central ethical issue Essay At first glance, it can be difficult to immediately discern and identify the main, or central, ethical issue that revolves around the case (‘Parenting Parents’) that chronicles Mary’s struggles pertaining to her parents’ problem about substance use and abuse. It is because there are some other issues that can also be of ethical and moral concern. Firstly, we can directly question the integrity of Mary’s parents by giving their children a â€Å"burden† because of their being alcoholic. Moreover, although they can fulfill their functions as parents and as members of the community, it is evident that they did not live as a good example to their growing children because of their inclination and addiction to alcohol, which caused worries to their children, especially to Mary. On the other hand, since Mary’s parents were able to consult their physician, they should also have received an adequate advice, aside from receiving a mere prescription of medication, or perhaps a referral to a specialist, in order to correct their alcohol abuse and alleviate their condition. Unfortunately, in Mary’s eyes, the condition of her parents seemed to have been aggravated with the addition of the narcotic medication into their system (body). In this regard, a greater responsibility is now placed on the prescribing physician due to the fact that Mary’s parents believed that there was really nothing wrong with the dosage and that it was â€Å"legally prescribed†. Therefore, the central ethical issue in the case must be on the appropriateness, or otherwise, of the actions of the prescribing physician (by prescribing higher dosage of narcotic medication), as well as the fact that there was no sufficient information given to them about the treatment regimen, thus leaving inadequate knowledge and augmenting Mary’s apprehension about the status of her parent’s health. II. Research 1. http://www. pubmedcentral. nih. gov/articlerender. fcgi? tool=pmcentrezartid=1769525 The research-article by Robert L. Fine (2007) entitled ‘Ethical and practical issues with opioids in life-limiting illness’ explores the vast ethical and practical concepts pertaining to narcotic pain management. The article presented a substantial connection of ethics and practice through purposeful application of knowledge and evidence-based practice. Further, the article also refutes some common psychosocial and practical misconceptions about narcotics such as the beliefs that these medications cause respiratory depression and addiction. Moreover, the said article is especially relevant to this paper because it renders a significant idea about the higher dosages of narcotics to alcoholic patients, which, according to Fine, is because of their â€Å"incredible tolerance to opioids or narcotics†, thereby necessitating an increased dosage to effectively manage their pain while having a â€Å"strict dosing protocols and written contracts†. Hence, the article emphasized that patients who are substance abusers (like Mary’s parents) should be managed with compassion and suggested the importance of providing information and conducting proper education, not only to the patients but also to their families and significant others, regarding the overall effects of the medication in order to correct the underlying misconceptions and lessen their anxiety, as well as referring them to addiction specialists or psychiatrists. 2. http://www. ama-assn. org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion9032. shtml The above link represents a portion of the American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics, specifically the subtitle on ‘Reporting Adverse Drug or Device Events’ (American Medical Association â€Å"Opinion 9. 032†). In this manner, it is stipulated in this portion that the physicians have an ethical responsibility to report actual or potential adverse reactions of a certain medication or a devise to the broader medical community. Moreover, the said article augments that physicians belong to a group that could best monitor and report any adverse or untoward reactions, as well to communicate relevant information about to a certain drug or medication (American Medical Association â€Å"Opinion 9. 032†). Thus, this article poses its relevance to the central ethical issue in this paper since it highlights the physicians’ responsibility to provide and communicate information to all stakeholders. 3. http://clinicalcenter. nih. gov/participate/patientinfo/legal/bill_of_rights. shtml The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center’s article on the ‘Patient Bill of Rights’ is the one that is represented by the above link. In so doing, the so-called patient bill of rights typifies the right of the patients to complete current information pertaining to all aspects of their care, which must obtained from the physician. Moreover, all the necessary information must be given in â€Å"easily understandable terms† (National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center â€Å"Patient Bill of Rights†). As such, the said article is relevant to this paper because it highlights the importance of providing information about the patients’ treatment, which fairly includes the medication regimen that is particularly involved in the discussion of the central ethical issue of this paper.