Improving Patient Experience and Reducing Costs by Integrating Clinical Ethics Into Challenging Situations (96H)

Complex patient scenarios can have a multidimensional impact on the healthcare team and hospital administration. Situations regarding scarce resource allocation, withholding or withdrawing of potentially nonbeneficial treatments, organ transplantation, and challenging family dynamics can increase the risk of burnout and moral distress in staff, leave negative impressions on patients and their families, and result in unnecessary costs. The utilization of a medical ethicist can mitigate these risks and ultimately have a positive impact on the areas of cost, quality and experience. This presentation will share a proactive strategy for engaging a medical ethicist to conduct a healthcare ethics consultation (HCEC) early in the care process to facilitate clearer communications and create this positive impact. The presentation will provide example cases that include the why and when to include ethicists to support the care team and families in making healthcare decisions with ethical considerations. In addition, the case examples will describe the results of ethics consultation on cost, quality and experience.