Many healthcare facilities have changed to paperless records during the last few years. The protection of patient information has to come in accordance with digital standards. Furthermore, the scope of careers in medicine is expanding all the time, underlining the need for compliance and ethics in healthcare organizations.
Organizational Behavior and Privacy Regulations
The first thing that should be brought into discussion is the Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), which has been designed to govern privacy related to the medical records of patients. Now organizations can face severe repercussions, if complete compliance of these regulations not obliged with. This also warrants the incoming workforce to be trained and education in ethics and compliance.
The other side of the picture is that in light of regulations, healthcare organizations are making it mandatory for employees to have some sort of training in ethics and compliance. They’re doing so in order to protect themselves from litigation and charges like confidentiality breaches. Students pursuing medical careers should think of such certifications in order to get better job opportunities.
Academic Opportunities
The diversity in careers is increasing and so are the institutes offering programs. Medical billing and coding courses from Sanford Brown and other institutions provide hands on training with sensitive patient data. Students learn the importance of a code of conduct; the notion that ethics and compliance go hand in hand with careers in healthcare. Students opting for this career line would also have access to sensitive data, increasing the responsibility of the job.
Additionally, some institutes also offer courses related to ethics, which can boost viability in the market. Furthermore, no additional expenses would be required since they are already a part of the program.
Another advantage of such institutes is that they also feature a virtual trainer program that allows students to learn and practice procedures in a virtual environment. Billing experts can get valuable training of the clinical side that would help them when they apply for a certification training course, all from the comfort of their homes if they wish to.
The scope of ethics and compliance deals not only with data handling, but also on the clinical side as well. This relates to how procedures are performed and what the standard protocol is.
Ethics and compliance training mostly deal with information about legal issues. Basic information being shared in this training is on abuse and fraud laws, Stark law, non-compliance penalties, false claims, confidentiality breach, etc. So knowledge about such measures also ensures job security for the employee.
Legal Imperative
Ignorance about medical ethics and compliance can not only result in dismissal, but may also result in penal charges. It’s also important to make sure that the certification is by a government chartered body like American Medical Certification Association or American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management.
The Health Group Purchasing Industry Initiative (HGPII) is a non-profit organization that keeps the medical community updated on highest ethical standards and best practices in compliance. It hosts an annual Best Practices Forum which is a good experience for those pursuing careers in medicine. Not only it allows networking in the community, but it also bolsters presence of those employed in the healthcare field.
Based upon all the evidences that have been provided above, ethics and compliance have never been more important in the medical careers. They are both a caution and an opportunity. Caution for those who can jeopardize their careers by not following them and opportunity for those who can use their certifications to advance career options.