Title: Medical ethics response to chronic illness healthcare for aging people of Taiwan

Authors: Ya-huei Wang, Ching-Ju Lai

Addresses: Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Chung-Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jian-Koa N. Rd, Taichung, Taiwan. ' Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Chung-Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jian-Koa N. Rd, Taichung, Taiwan

Abstract: With advanced medical technology, the aging population has risen rapidly worldwide. Thus, aging chronic illness and long-term illness have become an unavoidable issue in medical care management. Conventional medical care management has neglected chronic medical care due to lacking the know-how for handling the needs of aging chronic clients. Aging patients cannot obtain a close relationship with medical professionals. A collaborative medical relationship includes establishing a patient-centred medical process which considers patients| voices and needs. However, in traditional Chinese Confucian society, the patient-centred medical process involves not only the patient, but also the patient|s family, which makes the entire medical decision-making process more complicated. This study investigates Chinese medical ethics to understand the complicated doctor-patient relationship among healthcare professionals, patients and patients| family members.

Keywords: medical technology; chronic illness; patient-centred medical processs; long-term care; Chinese medical ethics; Taiwan; healthcare technology; aging population; doctor-patient relationship; healthcare professionals; family members; patients.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCCM.2009.031489

International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management, 2009 Vol.2 No.4, pp.322 - 332

Published online: 05 Feb 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article