Reflective Journal Template – Topic Reflection
Health is one of the most central parts of our lives, and it is for this reason that healthcare facilities developments have been put at the forefront worldwide to ensure that individuals get the best medical attention at an affordable fee. Additionally, how powerful a country is depends on the health status of its residents, that is, more sickness and increased deaths is equivalent to a weak country (Pugh, 2015). Provision of health services in the United States began early in the late 1920s where the state offered funds to provide medical facilities for the sick even though there was no legislative health policy at that time. Later, a proposal was passed to provide compulsory health insurance to the citizen in the US. However, this failed because it favored only the rich and not all individuals and that it ought to be optional as opposed to compulsory. Legislation on national health insurance was also passed but not implemented due to fighting from other parties; finally, a proposal was given to offer voluntary health insurance to the aged and provision of Medicare, a policy that prospered.
Ethics are morals that dictate the right and wrong behaviors that govern a particular body. The health system also has ethical issues that have been developed to monitor how best healthcare services are provided to individuals (Bernstein, 2010). However, there have been ethical debates that have steamed up on the same in the US. Some of the current debatable ethical issues that emerged over in the US healthcare system include the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that has been criticized based on the fact that it puts forth certain conditions for one to be insured which is considered unethical. Other debatable ethical issues include mandatory insurances and rights and protection of the both patients and the physicians. The US is known to spend a lot of funds on healthcare as compared to other countries in the world even though their health care services are still not satisfactory. However the US is still the best in providing health services compared to the rest of the world. Healthcare is a very vital part and should be availed to all persons regardless of their status in the society. Act Utilitarianism is one of the ethical theories that illustrate the significance of having a good health care since it mostly concerns with the happiness of the individual and it is very widespread. The action taken on someone should do well to one and not cause harm to them.
HIV/AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease, and therefore, the policies implemented to monitor this disease should be done with care because the kind of policies developed will depend on the outcome of the prevention to be achieved. Measures should be taken to evaluate the regulatory rules imposed by this disease and leading health organizations developed public health policies such as educating the people on the transmission and prevention of the disease. Education is the most important public health policy that has been used to enlighten people on the importance of HIV counseling and testing to enable medical institutions to monitor the infections rates in different parts of the world (Rushton, 2012). Ignorance is one of the fundamental factors that lead to the spread of this infectious disease and has more records among drugs users. Ethical issues on exposure to this virus are also addressed to reach the prevention goals in most of the facilities. Ethical theories have been used to demonstrate the importance of one taking an HIV test and, to support this, the Care Ethics theory enables the care of those patients who get affected and does not treat them in isolation. This approach allows infected patients to get the moral support and attention that they deserve and does not make them feel discriminated.
References
Pugh, G. (2015). Perceptions of the Hospital Ethical Environment Among Hospital Social Workers in the United States. Social Work In Health Care, 54(3), 252-268.
Bernstein, D. (2010). Health Care Reinsurance and Insurance Reform in the United States: A Simulation Model. Geneva Pap Risk Insur Issues Pract, 35(4), 568-580.
Rushton, S. (2012). The global debate over HIV-related travel restrictions: Framing and policy change. Global Public Health, 7(sup2), S159-S175.
