Ethical Decision Making by Project Managers

Ethical Decision-Making Issues for a QA Project Manager in the Department of Veterans Affairs

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates the country's largest healthcare system, and an important part of that system is overseeing the quality of healthcare services that are provided to the nation's veterans. This paper provides the results of a semi-structured, face-to-face interview with Mr. Brad Western, a quality assurance (QA) project manager at a local VA medical center. The structured interview questions and response are followed by a summary of the interview results and the main findings that emerged.

How those issues get resolved?

The response to this question focused on Mr. Western's role as the medical center's congressional liaison, and the ethical issues that were encountered on a routine basis as well as some special cases. According to Mr. Western, "The most frequent calls I receive from congressional offices concerns the lengthy amount of time required to receive appointments or to be scheduled for special care clinics, but we also hear some isolated reports of patient abuse and disrespect that demand immediate attention. Most of the time, we're able to work with the patient represent and patient advocate offices to facilitate care."

When asked about any special cases that involved an ethical dilemma, Mr. Western responded that, "I remember one case where an urgent call from a deputy in a sheriff's office in another county wanting to know if we had a criminal suspect as an inpatient was referred to me. The deputy emphasized that the individual might be armed and dangerous, and insisted that I divulge this information. I placed the deputy on hold and asked our legal counsel in the office next-door what we should do. She insisted that the veteran's privacy rights outweighed the deputy's interests and the sheriff's office would have to follow normal protocol in order to obtain this information. I relayed this information to the deputy who expressed his disappointment in unprofessional terms."

Does he believe the issue was handled fairly?

When asked if he believed the issue with the deputy was handled fairly, Mr. Western responded, "At the time, I had no way of verifying the caller's identity and the deputy might have been an imposter trying to gain personal information about one of our veteran patients using social engineering."

What business ethical issues does he deal with on the job?

Although most of the work performed by Mr. Western is focused on healthcare, he did point out that he also headed the United Way Foundation drive in 2012 at the medical center and was encouraged to acquire 100% participation among all VA employees. While the interviewee said he did not have a problem with that goal, he cited the use of an emotion-laden video using the homeless and hungry babies that was presented to all VA employees (without his knowledge or consent). The video likely generated increased participation, but Mr. Western considered the tactic unethical and distasteful.

How those issues get resolved?

In the United Way issue described above, there was no resolution because the video was presented without Mr. Western's knowledge or consent, but he did report that he mentioned his views to the medical center director who said he would take the matter under advisement for future United Way drives.

Does he or she believe the issue was handled fairly?