Andrew Lee, Erika Kabat, Bradley Kennedy, Kahla Moore

Score: 50/50
a. Ethics

Moral philosophy between

concepts of right and wrong
behaviors.

b. Values

Enduring beliefs based on

some early form of
indoctrination and experience.
Applied practices derived from
an ethical framework.

c. Morals
d. Principles

e. Advocacy

f.

Distributive Justice

Immutable characteristics of
value based decision making
that are broken down into
mutually exclusive categories
of outcomes or answers
The act of pleading for,
supporting, or recommending.

Set of theories or ideologies

that attempts to instill a set of
values, ideals of fairness based
on those values, and beliefs in
the allocation of resources.

g. Utilitarianism

Theory that aims to maximize

the possible happiness of
society as a whole.

h. Egalitarianism

A set of closely related theories

that advocate the thesis that
all members of society should
have exactly an equal amount
of resources.

i.

Theory that suggests market

forces should determine the

Libertarianism

To make decisions about

what is considered
appropriate for a patient
we must appeal to a
standard of ethics. This is
doing what we believe
to be correct.
I learned my values as a
child. I was taught be
honest.
In tough situations I let
my morals guide me to
the right decision.
I believe all people
should actively
contribute to society. This
is a principle I abide by.
I support advocacy of
health promotion. I
routinely encourage
friends and family to live
healthier lifestyles.
With limited resources
within a healthcare
system organizations
must rely on their own
system of distributive
justice.
When making schedules
for employees I use a
utilitarianism approach. I
make it so all my workers
are happy collectively.
As American society
progresses the idea of
egalitarianism keeps
progressing. Social
programs are pushing
more towards total
equality
In a capitalist economy
market forces prevail.

distribution of resources.

j.

Deontology

An ethical framework that

suggests actions should be
judged right or wrong based
on their values and principles.

k. Pluralism

Idea that resources must be

distributed based on multiple
criterion

l.

The patients right to selfgovernance

Autonomy

m. Beneficence

The requirement of the health

organization to do good

n. Nonmaleficence

The requirement of the health

organization to do no harm

o. Justice

The obligation to give each

patient fair resource allocation

p. Regulatory
Compliance

Systems for health operations

that comply with statutory

This libertarianism
ideology is what we use
in American industry.
When trying to
understand what moral
guidelines lead someone
to a decision it is useful
to question what
deontology they
followed for that
decision.
When deciding how to
choose between serving
the needs of the poor
and the needs of our
veterans it would be wise
to apply the idea of
pluralism.
Instead of risking the
surgery Mr. Smith chose
to use an alternative
therapy. His autonomy
was very important him
regarding this decision.
As a healthcare provider
your goal should be to
improve the health of as
many people as
possible. The idea of
beneficence should be
deeply rooted in all
endeavors.
When performing surgery
the idea of
nonmaleficence must be
applied. All due
diligence must be
followed to ensure no
harm is done if possible
When dealing with being
short staffed and
overwhelmed by
patients appeal to a
system of justice to
allocate your staff.
HIPPA is a regulatory
compliance guideline

regulations from state, federal,

and local governments.

regarding information
privacy.

PART II. APPLICATION OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE TO BE COMPLETED IN CLASS.

Instructions: Choose one of the distributive justice theories on pages 250-252 which
most represents your point of view of health resources allocation. Explain how you will
use your chosen theory when dealing with the following scenario. This should not be
more than one full page of narrative.
Scenario: You are a manager at the local Rural Health Clinic, which is also a Federally
Qualified Health Center (FQHC). According to Illinois law, a billable patient encounter is
when a patient has a face-to-face encounter with a physician, physician assistant,
midwife or nurse practitioner, or a dentist, licensed psychologist, license social worker, or
licensed clinical professional counselor.
You came to work on Monday morning to find of your two nurse practitioners, one
resigned that morning and the other, who is her back-up, is too sick to come to work.
Your physician normally is in the clinic on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You have 12 patients
scheduled that day, including several child immunizations and flu shots. Your licensed
practical nurse (LPN) is plenty capable of administering the immunizations and flu shots
but you know these are not billable to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family
Services. Determine your course of action and use a specific distributive justice theory
of utilitarianism, egalitarianism, libertarianism, deontology, or pluralism to justify your
actions.

The distributive justice theory I chose to apply to this scenario is utilitarianism. I would
utilize my staff to provide the most care possible regardless of how we are able to bill.
The mission healthcare organizations is to provide relief from illness and promote
wellness. If I did not do everything in my power to do that I would be failing the
organization and the people it serves. I would immediately resolve the lack of staff
afterwards. I would also develop a contingency plan to avoid similar situations in the
future.