HLTH 320 – 1301A – 02
Unit 1 DB
Betty Johnson
February 13, 2013
Legal and Ethical Guidelines for Healthcare

When a healthcare practitioner provides healthcare to a patient, much of the procedures performed are based on the caregivers beliefs of what they feel is ethical or within the standards of the law. If a caregiver is asked to give medical care by a patient and given instructions on how they would prefer to be treated, the caregiver would always have to think about whether or not they should satisfy the patient, or act on their personal ethical beliefs. Some decisions may be too hard for the caregiver to make and then they would need to rely on laws and guidelines to help them make the right decision. (Fremgen, 2012) Healthcare professionals would often times agree with the harm that smoking cigarettes can do to the lungs and the entire body. If a patient feels they should be allowed to smoke cigarettes because of stress and their body’s dependence upon nicotine, the caregiver would then have to make the decision whether or not to assist the patient in their efforts to obtain tobacco products for their consumption. Caregivers are not allowed to harm patients, but sometimes they have to perform procedures that may cause pain in order to help their patient. When a caregiver gives a patient information that will help them to heal, they also have to take responsibility that they are giving the correct information. Patients have the responsibility of