Ethics and Management

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations (JCAHO) establishes standards for health organizations that cover a wide spectrum of operations and responsibilities. One area for which standards are established by the JCAHO is ethics. Ethical standards for health organizations apply to clinical practice, research, and all other aspects of the management of health organizations (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations, 1996c).

To be accredited by the JCAHO, a health organization must be rated satisfactory on an assessment of the organization conducted by the JCAHO. This assessment covers all JCAHO standards. Assessments are conducted as an on-site survey of a health organizations operations and responsibilities (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations, 1996a).

The principal focus of all standards developed for the JCAHO is on the patient. While the specifics of a standard for a particular performance area may emphasize the clinical or operational aspects of that performance area, the ultimate intend of the performance standard is the outcome for the patient (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations, 1996b).

This research reviews the ethical standards required by the JCAHO for health organizations generally and for hospitals specifically. The ethical standards required by the JCAHO for

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general rules, as opposed to their own specific outcomes. The Alaska oil spill of 1989 may also be used to distinguish between act and rule utilitarianism. Within the context of act utilitarianism, the actions of those responsible for the oil tanker Valdez would be evaluated within the context of the outcomes of the oil spill in Prince William Sound. Within the context of rule utilitarianism, however, the outcomes associated with the event would be considered with respect to the general rule which permitted the transport of crude oil through Prince William Sound. In a similar manner, both act and rule utilitarianism may be used in the development of utilitarian-based law applicable to the practice of health care professionals. In addition to act and rule utilitarianism, utilitarian philosophy is also categorized as (1) egoistic or universalistic, (2) hedonistic or idealistic, and (3) normative or descriptive. These latter distinctions may apply to either act or rule utilitarianism. The egoistic/universalistic distinction depends upon whether the only consequences considered are those that apply only to the agent effecting an action, or whether the consequences affecting society as a whole, or the consequences affecting all
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Approximate Word count = 3742
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)

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