Advanced Care Planning: Ethical Principles and Legal Framework

Advanced Care Planning
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Introduction
In the recent years, there has been a significant increase in the Advanced Care
Planning approach in the palliative healthcare system for the elderly population and
individuals with chronic diseases. This enables individuals to plan ahead their future
medical decisions, which are to be followed by the healthcare providers, when these
individuals are incapable of expressing their opinions or decisions.
According to the Hippocratic Oath, this method might seem ethically and morally wrong,
however, it is evident that Advanced Care planning has helped many terminally ill patients
achieve a peaceful and less agonizing death, by giving them the right to choose to end
their lives with dignity and respect.
This issue has been observed to cause an ethical and moral dilemma between healthcare
professionals worldwide (Sneesby, 2011). The concept of helping the patient by ending
their suffering via termination of their life is very much against the Hippocratic Oath taken
by the healthcare professionals.
The essay will focus on why this system of Advanced Care Planning in Australia is very
crucial for the well-being of the ever growing older population.
This essay will also talk about the ethical principles in ACP/ACD in aging population and
End of Life (EOL), current research and community discussion in relation to ACP/ACD,
discussion on preparation and use of ACP/ACD as well as associated legislation in
Victoria.

Discussion
Discussion of ACP/ACD
The Advanced care planning approach helps in planning and making decisions
regarding the possible future healthcare aspects, facilitated by trained healthcare
professionals. This process focuses on letting the healthcare professionals be aware of the
beliefs, values and treatment preferences of the patient, during the time of an critical
decision making in the future, when the patient is unable to make decisions for themselves
(Mullick, Martin & Sallnow, 2013).
Ethical principles relevant to ACP
Considering the very statement of the Hippocratic Oath where the health care
professionals swear to serve and treat their patients in order for them to achieve better
health, this concept of Advanced Care Planning, especially End of Life, goes against this
very statement (Bloomer, Tan & Lee, 2010). This is because in this approach, to help end
the suffering of the patient, the healthcare professionals are to terminate the lives of their
patients (Searight, 2019). These techniques of assisted suicide, even though helps the
patient suffering from prolonged, untreatable and painful chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s, cancer, to avail dignified and respectful deaths (Dolan, 2017).
The practice standards the principles behind the Advanced Care planning were developed
by the National Framework for Advance Care Directives.
The ethical principles which are often used to guide this process of following this approach
are- beneficence, confidentiality, justice, informed consent as well as non-maleficence.
These ethical principles ensure the overall welfare and improved satisfaction of the patient
(Wilson, Oliver & Malpas, 2019).
Best practice in preparation and utilisation of ACP/ACD
The healthcare professionals, to avoid formulating any ethical issues require to the
informed consent of the patient either form before the deterioration of the patient’s health
or after.