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Navigating a Collision Course: Clinical Ethics vs. Business Ethics

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Teaching Business Ethics

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present a teaching tool that can be used in a variety of courses to examine ethical issues that have emerged in the turbulent health services environment of the United States. More specifically, we describe a structured discussion on the collision between traditional medicine and business practice. We examine six ethical dilemmas and frame them according to the major stakeholders in each situation. We describe these dilemmas in the form of double binds, unattainable situations, conflicts of interest, and countervailing incentives existing between the stakeholders. We analyze the roles that various players have in maintaining the integrity and ethical foundations of health care in the United States. Finally, in light of the increasing industrialization of medicine, we use evidence from the business ethics literature to provide an additional perspective on these relevant health care issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business, The University of Tampa, Tampa, FL, 33606-1490 Email

    Earl Simendinger & Debbie Thorne LeClair

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  1. Earl Simendinger
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  2. Debbie Thorne LeClair
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Simendinger, E., LeClair, D.T. Navigating a Collision Course: Clinical Ethics vs. Business Ethics. Teaching Business Ethics 2, 329–345 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009760710023

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