Administrative medical assisting 5th by lindh chapter08

Chapter 8

Ethical Considerations

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or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethics
• Defined in terms of what is considered
right or wrong
• Sometimes referred to as “morals”

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethics
• Professional organizations often identify their
ethics in “codes”
– Principles of Medical Ethics from American Medical
Association (AMA)
– Medical assistants have AAMA code of ethics and a creed
– American Hospital Association (AHA) Hospital Patient Bill of
Rights
– More than 50 differing codes of ethics for professional
organizations
– Seven ethical codes that relate to the entire world

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ethics
• Principle-centered leadership
– Guidelines to how you might perform ethically in
medical setting
– Adapted from Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People and Principle-Centered
Leadership

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethics
• Five Ps of ethical power
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Purpose
Pride
Patience
Persistence
Perspective
• From The Power of Ethical Management by Kenneth
Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethics
• Ethics check questions
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Is it legal?
Is it balanced?
Is it the best approach for all concerned?
How will it make me feel about myself?

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Keys to the AAMA Code of Ethics
• Render service with full respect for the
dignity of humanity
• Respect confidential information
• Uphold honor and high principles of the
profession and accept its disciplines

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Keys to the AAMA Code of Ethics
• Seek to improve knowledge and skills of
medical assistants
• Participate in additional service
activities to improve health in
community

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics
• American Osteopathic Association
Code of Ethics
• American Chiropractic Association’s
Code of Ethics

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Advertising
– Legal and ethical for providers to advertise if
claims made truthful and not misleading
– May include credentials of providers, description of

practice, services rendered, how fees determined
– Managed care agencies may advertise services
and participating providers

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Confidentiality
– Must not reveal information without consent
unless required by law
– Patients must feel comfortable revealing
information
– Some incidents must be reported
• Patient threatens another person
• Certain injuries and illnesses
• Subpoenaed information

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• HIPAA
– Care must be taken to protect confidentiality
– Only authorized individuals should be permitted to
add or alter data

– HIPAA has specific guidelines for computer
privacy

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Medical records
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Records property of provider and patient
Do not reveal information without patient consent
Record confidential
Transfer records to authorized provider if
requested
– Provider should provide copy or summary if
patient requests
– Cannot be withheld because of unpaid bill

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers

• Professional fees and charges
– Illegal or excessive fees should not be charged
– Based on fees customary to locale
– Reflect difficulty of services and quality of
performance
– Fee splitting unethical

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Professional fees and charges
– Providers may charge for missed appointments if
that office policy known by patient
– Providers may charge to complete complex
insurance forms
– Bill only treatments documented on patient’s chart

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Professional rights and responsibilities
– May choose whom to serve
– May not refuse patient on basis of race, color,
religion, national origin, or any other illegal

discrimination
– Cannot deny treatment of HIV-infected patient
– Cannot neglect or refuse patient treatment unless
withdrawn from case
– Patients have right to know their diagnoses

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Professional rights and responsibilities
– Only providers should inform families of patient’s
death
– Should expose incompetent, corrupt, dishonest,
and unethical conduct by other providers
– May not treat patients if under influence of
controlled substances or alcohol
– Must take precautions if HIV positive
– Must avoid “conflicts of interest”

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Disaster response and emergency
preparedness

– Care of sick and injured is primary concern
– Providers should consider seeking training in
emergency preparedness and disaster response

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Treatment for culturally diverse clientele
– Same quality of care to all patients regardless of
race or ethnicity
– Eliminate biased behavior toward any individuals
different from themselves
– Encourage diversity when hiring

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Care of the poor
– Should be regular part of every provider’s practice
– Encouraged to take certain number of patients on
reduced-cost basis or provide free services
– Volunteer their time to lobbying and being
advocates for those without medical coverage

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Abuse
– Neglect, physical, emotional/psychological/mental
injury, sexual
– Child, elder, intimate partner violence (IPV)
– All 50 states mandate reporting of child abuse
– Most states have legislation regarding elder abuse
– Reporting abuse of IPV varies by state
• Stalking: reportable crime in some states
• Rape: reportable criminal act

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Ethical Guidelines for
Health Care Providers
• Abuse
– Protect and care for the abused
– Treat abuser as victim also
– Provide safe environment for abused seeking
treatment
– Seek treatment for abuser and abused

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or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Bioethics
• Allocation of scarce medical resources
– 2011: 59 million people without health insurance
coverage
– Health Care Reform Act of 2010
– Hispanic and non-Hispanic black children more
likely to have no health care
– Elderly have difficulty finding providers who take
new Medicare patients
– Macroallocation and microallocation

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Bioethics
• Health care–right or privilege?
– Examples
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Available kidney
Next available pediatric appointment
Artificial insemination
Referral to a mental health specialist

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.


Bioethics
• HIV and AIDS
– Confidentiality must be safely guarded
– Unethical to deny treatment to individuals because
they test positive for HIV
– If patient refuses to notify person at risk,
authorities can be contacted

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied
or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.