Organizational ethics, the ‘new kid on the block’ of health care ethics, addresses and critically appraises the ethics dimensions of decision making at multiple levels within health care organizations and government. It is primarily concerned with ethics-related issues that arise at senior leadership and management tables which may, in turn, have significant, frontline impacts on patients and citizens. Organizational ethics topics include the fair allocation of limited health resources; health priority setting; the disclosure of significant adverse events; ‘responsible partnering’ with private industry; and the non-constructive use of power in policy making.
NSHEN’s organizational ethics work takes a variety of forms including consultations that address specific organizational ethics issues, the use of ethics-informed decision making frameworks, and the provision of ethics support to the development and review of health policies that direct how organizations govern and ‘live’ their mission, vision and core values.
Related Organizational Ethics Resources
Organizational Ethics in Health Care: Principles, Cases, and Practical Solutions
Clinical Ethicists’ Perspectives on Organizational Ethics in Healthcare Organizations (study)