Essay About Dr. Alemans Case And Emilia Hedges

Bioethics Case
Dr. Aleman made an error but should he reveal it to Emilia Hedges? I think if he doesnt reveal his errors it doesnt mean he is lying. He didnt make the errors on purpose, he just forgot completely about the further tests to do when observing the patient. Ms. Hedges is oblivious to the further tests he could have done, although she may think he made some mistakes after being hospitalized. To me, lying to Ms. Hedges would involve giving her incorrect information. It isnt exactly incorrect information by not revealing her his errors. Incorrect information could instead be that he gave her tests and it didnt reveal anything wrong, when the tests did. When in actuality, no tests were performed and nothing was revealed. To begin with, he didnt make the mistakes on purpose and cause her to be hospitalized, so not revealing his errors wouldnt harm Ms. Hedges. Even though he is terribly distressed by it revealing his errors are not in the best interest of the patient, it would just make the situation worse for everyone involved. In class we have discussed Higgs examples, one being how much the patient should know about side effects. Well in this case, if the patient knows every detail about the side effects, the patient wouldnt take the medication. In Dr. Alemans case, if Emilia knew every exam he should have performed on her, she could possibly sue him for not taking the proper steps to diagnose her. Higgs also provided another example being a child asking will it hurt. Suppose Emilia Hedges asked Dr. Aleman if she will have a stroke during her first appointment. Dr. Aleman didnt know better, he didnt know she would end up with a stroke. Another situation is suppose she asked him why she had a stroke on her follow up appointment. Dr. Aleman found out why she had a stroke, but was it because of him? I dont think so. Everyone makes errors and it isnt lying if you dont reveal them. I wouldnt consider it exactly being truthful either, but I believe not revealing his error doesnt mean he is being deceitful, rather protecting the patient. Protecting the patient meaning from the medical world, from the reality of things happen and death can be real. What has stuck with me and really got me thinking is someone in class (I forget her name) her father in law died and the doctor told the family they gave him 6 months