Medical Technology And Ethical Issues Essay

Words: 881
Pages: 4

Life has an obnoxious habit of altering in a split second. Stray bullets, natural disasters, medical complications, virtually anything can arise in the blink of an eye. In one moment someone, namedChris, could be casually ambling through a local park and suddenly a massive tree falls and crushes Chris into the dirt. He proceeds to scream at the top of his lungs, while clawing at the bark, crying in agony, unable to do anything but pray for rescue. 72 hours pass before he is rescued. Starving, freezing, lungs collapsing from the pressure of the tree, slowly bleeding out, and infection has set it, without immediate care Chriswill die.While being airlifted to the nearest hospital, Chris barely breathingcalls out for his wife and his two beautiful …show more content…
Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey, computer programs such as the RIP program are being used more frequently in emergency rooms. Essentially the program uses statistics to assist doctors on vital decisions, “the program analyzes all of the input on a particular patient and makes a prognosis on the likelihood of survival.” This technology is unethical. A program should not have the power to suggest to a doctor to let a patient die. In Chris’ situation the hospital not only must decide is what best for him, but also for his family. If the surgeon decided to follow the suggestion of RIP, Chris will die which leaves two young children fatherless, and a broken, depressed, now widowed woman will be left with her baby girls all alone. There is nothing ethical about refusing care to a man because a computer said so. Allowing a family to lose a member knowingly is extremely unethical. A computer does not have morals, ethics, emotions, and cannot consider the people other than the patient. Allowing doctors to use this system demonstrates the overreliance of this generation on technology as well. Up until now all decisionsmade by a team of professionals were not influenced by a