Values & Ethics in Geriatrics

Health care professionals use moral values and ethical decision making to assist geriatric patients. Geriatric individuals include the elderly over the age 65. The aging process carries with it medical ailments, psychological changes, changes in the body and decisions on care. Health care professionals, family members or loved ones must demonstrate ethical decision making with the elderly individual to ensure independence and maintain the the individual's spirit.

Care-giving

• Care-giving includes medical or health care professionals as well as family members, friends or loved ones. Care-giving for geriatric patients requires strong ethics and values. The welfare for the geriatric individual remains a top priority with all care. Common values a caregiver exhibits toward the individual include empathy, patience and integrity. Ethics that a caregiver considers during time with the geriatric individual include avoidance of harm, implementing non-invasive treatments when possible, the avoidance of prolonged suffering, clarification of information, promoting independence, allowing the individual to have a say in decisions when possible and care is consistent with the person's life goals and objectives.

Decision Making

• Decision making includes the geriatric individual making decisions sometimes with assistance or without. Individuals that are not capable of making their own decisions due to disabilities or deterioration require another person to step in and make decisions for them such as a guardian or conservator. According to Bret Hendricks and Senior Psychcare, ethics to consider during decision making include the individual's right to appoint someone to assist them in decision making, the right to refuse treatment such as surgeries, medications or the extension of life, the right to know the pros and cons of all decisions, the right to remain independent and the right to know the truth.

Confidentiality

• Once the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was initiated, consistent attention focuses on the geriatric individual's right to privacy and confidentiality in all services or care. Bret Hendricks and Seniorpsych Care point out a number of examples where confidentiality must be maintained such as the sharing of personal information or records to others, video taping or pictures, medical treatments or observations. Caregivers involved with the geriatric individual's care need to obtain consent from the individual or the individual's representative before any information is shared.

Humanization

• Humanization refers to care that the caregiver initiates toward the geriatric patient as an individual and not as generalization. Ruth Ludwick, Mary Cipriano Silva and Seniorpsych Care highlight that every elderly person has individual interests, desires, feelings, abilities and preferences regardless of age, color, ethnicity, sex or abilities. When the elderly patient is unable to make those desires known, the representative that knows them best provides information. All caregivers are responsible for protecting the elderly from abuse and must report any suspicions of physical, psychological, sexual or financial abuse to state regulating agencies for the elderly, according to Bret Hendricks.