Determine if the health information management professional (HIM) acted ethically or unethically. If unethical, describe why the action was unethical by citing both the ethical principle, e
Read through all the scenarios below.
Determine if the health information management professional (HIM) acted ethically or unethically.
If unethical, describe why the action was unethical by citing both the ethical principle, e.g., autonomy, veracity, etc. and a principle from an AHIMA code of ethics. Use the AHIMA Code of Ethics in resources. Include the specific subset of the Ethical Code in your answer. Be sure to read the Code of Ethics carefully and choose the BEST subsection for the scenario.
Describe how the situation should have been handled in an ethical manner. Include the conversation that you would use to deny or accept the request. Referral to the privacy or compliance officer or a supervisor is not an acceptable answer.
Situation
Ethical or Unethical (1 point each)
If unethical, identify the section/subsection of AHIMA ethical code and the ethical principle that is violated. (2 points each)
If unethical, describe the ethical behavior HIM should have done. Include the conversation that you would use to deny or accept the request. (2 points each)
1. HIM receives a call from a friend who asks whether or not she should consult with Dr. Doe who is on the staff of HIM’s hospital. HIM replies, “Heavens no, he doesn’t have many cases at the hospital, and his patients have a lot of complications after their surgery. You’d better go to Dr. Roe, he’s wonderful.”
Unethical
2. At her exercise class, one of the members of the class expresses sympathy for an absent member who, she reports, has recently been hospitalized because of acute appendicitis. HIM remarks, “It wasn’t appendicitis at all, but of course, I can’t tell you what it was because that wouldn’t be ethical.”
3. HIM is employed as a Director of Health Information Management at the Community Hospital. HIM has decided to teach medical terminology at the local community college. HIM is being paid for teaching this course plus her salary from the hospital. HIM told her boss that she would be unavailable on Tuesday night because of her commitment to teach this course.
4. An inexperienced and uncredentialed person has been employed to manage the health information department at a small neighboring clinic. This person asks HIM for advice. HIM, believing that he has more than enough to do taking care of his own work, tells this person that he cannot help her.
5. Dr. Smith has re-dictated a history and physical exam report on a patient who was discharged two months ago and wants it to totally replace the former report. The new report states that the patient had a back injury due to an auto accident. The original report referred to the condition as chronic back pain. HIM complies with the doctor’s request and files the new report in the patient’s record and removes the old one. After all, the doctor is always right. The medical record is scanned into an electronic document management system.
6. When applying for a fellowship in the American College of Surgeons, Dr. X uses, as examples of his own surgical work, the cases of several patients who were actually cared for by a senior surgeon on the staff. When the list of cases he has submitted is sent to the hospital for verification, HIM, knowing how anxious he is to obtain this credential and not wanting to make trouble, verifies by signature the statements that these were Dr. X’s patients.
7. Returning from a meeting of the Surgical Case Review Committee, where he took minutes, HIM excitedly informs his assistant, “You know Dr. Blank, the one who’s so ugly about completing her records-well, they said today that the big operation she did last month on Mary Jones was not necessary at all. They’re recommending that her surgi?cal privileges be suspended!”
8. A bill is returned from the Medicare contractor with a letter requesting copies of medical records to justify the diagnosis and treatment. The code numbers that appear on the bill are different from those on the patient’s medical record. Upon checking, HIM finds that the codes on the bill put the case into a higher paying DRG and the documentation in the patient record does not justify the new codes. HIM decides to send portions of the record and not change the codes to see if the Medicare contractor catches the discrepancy.
9. HIM begins working at a small rural hospital. He has a personal computer in his office and would like to use it for statistical reports and graphics. (No protected personal health information is at risk.) The administrator offers a copy of a statistical software package that she uses. The administrator refuses to purchase another copy for HIM when the hospital already owns one. HIM installs the same software on his computer in the HIM department. (Examine the license requirements for software.)
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