Technology and healthcare ethics

Influence of Technology on Ethical Decision-making in Healthcare
Name
Institution
Influence of Technology on Ethical Decision-making in Healthcare
Technology has become indispensable to every aspect of human life. In modern healthcare, the use of medical technology is becoming increasingly common for diagnosis, treatment, and assessment of patient care due to their high effectiveness (Tan & Ong, 2002). Despite these perceived benefits, technology also has serious ethical implications, with conflicts between ethics and healthcare becoming more common today. Tan and Ong (2002) observed that healthcare should be guided by the principles of medical necessity, cost effectiveness, and social justice. However, the adoption of technology in healthcare has affected various aspects of ethical decision-making such as beneficence/non-maleficence, patient autonomy, patient confidentiality, and justice, and equity (Saarni et al., 2008). For instance, Tan and Ong (2002) noted that many physicians choose complex or expensive procedures for their patients rather than simple, cost-effective, and effective interventions. This not only poses a serious risk to the patient’s life but also increases their financial burden for care. Technology may also need consideration where their use conflicts the common beliefs and convictions of the target communities as in the case of contraceptives (Saarni et al., 2008). Another area that has been affected by technology is the patient’s right to autonomy especially difficult- to-understand technological interventions such as gene therapy for dementia.

These individuals are not able to make informed decisions and therefore may be subjected to care against their wish.
These examples show that technology has a significant influence on ethical decision-making in healthcare at the patient, healthcare provider, and policy level. Therefore, an appropriate approach to guide ethical decision-making in the presence of medical technology is necessary. This would ensure that the numerous benefits of technology are realized but the potential conflicts that might arise between technology and ethics are also reduced.
References
Saarni, S. I., Hofmann, B., Lampe, K., Lühmann, D., Mäkelä, M., Velasco-Garrido, M., & Autti-Rämö, I. (2008). Ethical analysis to improve decision-making on health technologies. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 86, 617-623.
Tan, L. T. H., & Ong, K. L. (2002). The impact of medical technology on healthcare today. Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine, 9(4), 231-236.