The patients have the right to choose the way they receive treatment and how they want to be treated. They have the right to autonomy, and this right needs to be respected by the care providers. While it is wrong to ignore the rights of the patients, it is also morally wrong to allow racial discrimination within a care center. In this case, an ethical dilemma arises where respecting the request of the patient brings in the unethical code of conduct within the organization. Because the hospital has a nondiscriminatory policy, the patients may not have rights in such cases, which leads to a morally wrong act (Weech-Maldonado et al., 2002). Therefore, the patient may not have the right, in this case, to choose a physician based on racial bias because it is not only morally wrong but also against the policy of the hospital.
One of the effects that can arise from failing to respect the rights of the patients is dissatisfaction with the care. Patients who feel their requests have not been respected are more likely to feel dissatisfied with the kind of care they have received, and this has an overall impact on their health outcome. In the case study, failing to respect the request of the patient can lead to lack of trust and openness with an African American physician, a situation that can result in nondisclosure of certain information and eventually leading to medical error (Wellman, 2018). In some cases, patients may ask to go to another hospital where they will feel respected, and this can delay the treatment and care process, thus complicating the health of the patient.
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As a leader, handling this issue requires adhering to the ethical and moral values as well as the policy of the hospital concerning racial discrimination. The leader can approach and explain to the husband of the patient that it is ethically wrong to discriminate a physician based on the race and that also the policy of the hospital does not allow for requests that seem to promote racial discrimination. The hospital can then decline the request after the patient has understood.
References
Weech-Maldonado, R., Dreachslin, J. L., Dansky, K. H., De Souza, G., & Gatto, M. (2002). Racial/ethnic diversity management and cultural competency: the case of Pennsylvania hospitals. Journal of Healthcare Management , 47 (2), 111-126.
Wellman, C. (2018). The proliferation of rights: Moral progress or empty rhetoric? . Routledge.
