Case Study:
You are the president of a Border General Hospital (BGH) that is located in Colorado. You have been asked to draft ethical guidelines and principles for the Border General Hospital's next meeting of the Board of Directors. BGH is known in the area for having a progressive cancer treatment center, and as part of the center, BGH has a pharmacy that can dispense medication that is prescribed to patients of the cancer center. Many patients travel a great distance to seek treatment at Border General Hospital. Luther Johnson, a 65 year old pastor who lives in a nearby state, travels to BGH to seek treatment for prostate cancer. Johnson's doctor, a physician at the cancer center, has prescribed a variety of drugs to treat Johnson, including marijuana, which is to be used for medicinal therapy purposes in conjunction with Johnson's cancer treatment.
Write a paper of 5 to 7 pages that outlines the major components of ethical considerations and principles that are present in this scenario. Include the following:
- Examine the considerations that Border General should take into account when assessing the forms of therapy that are recommended for patients.
- Analyze relevant laws that should be considered by Border General when framing therapeutic guidelines for a health care institution relative to the use of medical marijuana or other substances that may be deemed illegal to possess, sell, or use by various jurisdictions.
- Differentiate various ethical dilemmas that patients might face regarding treatment that includes medical marijuana.
- Differentiate the ethical perspectives of health care organizations and doctors relative to the establishment of organizational-level guidelines to be used by doctors when assessing and planning patient care and for patients when making decisions regarding prescribed care.
- Examine the ultraliberal versus the ultraconservative ethics, and evaluate how they relate to this situation.
Formulate ethical guidelines that could be used by a hospital in assessing care recommendations and decisions.
Your answer must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format.