Ethics and Professionalism for Healthcare Managers, Second Edition

The ethical issues that arise in healthcare organizations are not limited to decisions made by clinicians. Everyday operational decisions made by healthcare managers also have weighty ethical implications. Ethics and Professionalism for Healthcare Managers prepares readers to recognize and respond to the ethical dilemmas they will encounter on a regular basis during their career in healthcare management. Through cases, exercises, and self-quizzes, readers can apply the theories and tools presented in the text to actual situations they may find themselves facing.

This updated second edition contains a new chapter on health policy, health disparities, and ethics that focuses on the interrelationships of cost, quality, and access. The chapter on ethical decision-making has also been extensively revised to include discussion of moral distress, expanded coverage of medical futility, and an introduction to the precautionary principle. Throughout, the book’s cases and examples have been updated to reflect current, real-world ethical issues in healthcare management.

Other new content in this edition covers:

• Moral engagement, moral disengagement, and the concept of moral courage
• The five Cs (competence, consent, confidentiality, crossing boundaries, and culture)
• Ethical implications of current health informatics, including electronic health records and the exchange of health information
• Continuous review and supervision of research integrity
• Ethical operations management during the COVID-19 pandemic

Also new to this edition, chapters are grouped into three overarching themes—ethics and the profession of healthcare management, ethical decision-making, and ethical applications. Each section is introduced by an AMA Journal of Ethics case study that sets the stage for the chapters that follow. Managers working in healthcare’s many settings are frequently tasked with addressing ethical dilemmas. This book provides a practical framework for confronting and resolving ethical conflicts throughout a healthcare organization.