Medical coding is a crucial part of medical claims. It contains medical information which doctors transcribe as diagnosis, procedure, patient’s condition, and prescription. It is basically any procedure that the physician performs on the patient, which medical coder will turn the information into a set of codes to be submitted to insurance companies for reimbursement. This paper focuses on importance of coding and ethical standards. It also describes the policies and procedures as well as violations and penalties of improper coding. American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), have been involved in protecting and upholding a standard for all those involved, and ensuring that data and record keeping are coded properly and that …show more content…
It includes safeguarding of privacy and security of health information, disclosure, development, use, and maintenance of health information. The ethical coding is crucial to healthcare consumers due to the fact that there are increasingly concerns about security and the potential loss of privacy and the inability to control how individual’s personal health information is used and disclosed. The essential health information issues include handling, collection, accessibility, and the conditions under the information should be disclosed. It also includes how the information is retained and when it is no longer needed, and how is it disposed of in a confidential manner (AHIMA Code of Ethics, …show more content…
Many of the issues that emerge can be resolved using technical or administrative standards and the decisions can invigorate for the professional if a code of ethics is used accurately (Flite, C. A., & Harman, L. B., 2013). According to policies and procedures for handling, principals guide the policies and procedure. Policies and procedure must be put in place so that when situations or problems arise and decisions must be formed prior to the ability of these systems to offer advice. The principles are based on prediction, transparency, professional and impartial, democratic, confidentiality, efficiency, and educational. Principle based on prediction, each individual complaint is managed in consistent, orderly, fair, and just manner. Transparency is where The Code of Ethics and the Policies and Procedures for Handling Charges of Ethical Standards Violations are made available to members. In this process charges are explained and consciously documented. During Professional and Impartial process each situation or case is directed on the basis of good will and all parties are handled equally and impartially. Democratic is a process where both parties are given opportunities voice and be heard. Confidential process is confidential; but, all individual’s feedbacks are known to each other. Efficiency is a commitment made to resolve issues
The American Health Information Management Association provides guidelines of elements to be included in a health care organization’s policies of a coding compliance plan. (“Coding Compliance: Practical Strategies for Success,” ahima.org, 1998).
With the change of codes, medical facilities and physicians may need to make sure their employees are well trained in anatomy and physiology. Incorrect codes or rejected claims can hurt the health care facility and the patient, it could even lead to a loss of revenue or a medical mistake with a patient. With the accuracy of the medical coder and biller along with their knowledge of anatomy and physiology claims are being
Understanding the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) ethical codes is an important aspect of developing one’s professional identity as a mental health counselor. More specifically, in order for a counselor to be professionally competent and ensure he/she is able to uphold ethical boundaries, it is essential that one becomes familiar with the codes. Furthermore, both ethical codes share a multitude of similarities as well as differences, including that the AMHCA code of ethics profoundly draws from the ACA code of ethics. However, it is important to note that the AMHCA code presents ethical criteria geared specifically towards mental health counselors whereas the ACA code
This organization is based on strong elements that will benefit each individual in enhancing the knowledge for a better future in the health department.Ahima is committed to educate,certify,train and become leaders.Their mission is to develop opportunities in increasing comprehensive and continuing education.In addition since technology is evolving globally this organization vision is to grow in the use of the health data by leading and being consistent in the changes that will benefit the healthcare department,this will help improve and reduce the cost of this new generation to come.I personally choosed AHIMA because it is an organization that will help the health department develop a different view on how to become a better leader to our
The codes typically are broad in definition, seldom providing detailed, acceptable behavior. Essentially, the code of conduct expands on the right behavior definition of ethics, which is the study of right or wrong behavior (Miller). The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) has adopted an ethical code called the Statement of Ethical Professional Practice that describes, in some detail, the ethical responsibilities of management accountants. All employees must follow ethical business practices to maintain a healthy economy built on trust in the reliability and fairness of everyday transactions (Noreen). Accordingly, management accountants must adhere to the standards established in the IMA’s Statement of Ethical Professional Practice, or they will lose the trust of their peers and customers and could risk prosecution.
In week 5, I will discuss the AHIMA code of ethics and whether it is good or not. I will also discuss the principles and whether they should be changed or not. Employees will be discussed and how some may respect and how may not respect it. Should they be terminated or just simply disciplined for their actions, that is what will be discussed here in this week’s apply paper. My conclusion will be an overall review of what was discussed and the importance.
The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, better known as the Privacy Rule, that took effect in April 2003 for large entities and a year later for small ones, was established as the first set of national standards for the protection of health information. This rule was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to meet the requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The Privacy Rule was born out of a need for health information to be appropriately protected yet still allowing the health information to be shared to ensure quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well being. It allows for the protection of the privacy of the patient and yet it also permits vital uses of information.
My job is to also ensure that the patient is aware of our HIPAA policies and that we are dedicated to protecting their records from any hackers or someone calling on the phone hoping to get any information. Looking at it from a mom and a patient’s point of view, it makes me feel a little easier about entrusting mine and my child’s information with them. We must as people in the health care field respect our patients and their privacy, and the code of ethics holds us accountable for these things. Being a billing and coding specialist, we have to be sure to code exactly what the doctor did during the visit to the best of my ability. The code of ethics mean I am responsible for educating myself on new changes that may be coming with future coding manuals, because they do change often. Overall the code of ethics ensure that as long as the guidelines are followed we can do our jobs accurately and with the proper
The guidance explains and clarifies key provisions of the medical privacy regulation, which was published last December (HIPAA, 1996). Guaranteeing the accuracy, security, and protection of the privacy of all medical information is crucial and an ongoing challenge for many organizations. References American Medical Association (2005). Retrieved December 7, 2008, from http://www.ad http://www.ama-assn.org/.
The American Health Information Management Association is a body of health information professionals that majorly concerns itself with the improvement of the quality of medical records (Harman 104). These health data records are vital for the purposes of monitoring the progress of patients, performance improvements and for improving outcomes.
There are weaknesses in professional guidelines and rules because they are unable to provide the directives for moral reasoning and action is health care situations. Many people state that biomedical ethics provides a framework and emphasis on the person rather than the professional code and legal policy (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). On the other hand they serve a purpose to provide some direction for professionals however codes of practise do not dismiss.
The code of ethics are a guide of principles designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and with integrity.1Most organization have codes of ethics that its members are required to follow and it lays out the rules and acceptable behavior of its the members of ethics and which actions are acceptable or not acceptable business practices. One industry where professional codes of ethics is important is health care. Most health care workers belong to an accredited organization of their profession, such American Medical Association (AMA), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and American Nurses Association. They may also be required to have additional certification and rules they must follow based on the laws of the individual
Patient confidentiality is one of the foundations to the medical practice. Patients arrive at hospitals seeking treatment believing that all personal information will remain between themselves and the medical staff. In order to assure patients privacy, confidentiality policies were established. However, a confidentiality policy may be broken only in the case the medical staff believes that the patient is a danger to themselves or to others in society. Thesis Statement: The ethics underlying patient confidentiality is periodically questioned in our society due to circumstances that abruptly occur leaving health professionals to decide between right and wrong.
Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our choice of a course of action. Having a method for ethical decision making is absolutely essential. When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that we work through it automatically without consulting the specific steps.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), Confidential Information and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA), and the Freedom of Information Act all provide legal protection under many laws. It also involves ethical protection. The patient must be able to completely trust the healthcare provider by having confidence that their information is kept safe and not disclosed without their consent. Disclosing any information to the public could be humiliating for them. Patient information that is protected includes all medical and personal information related to their medical records, medical treatments, payment records, date of birth, gender, and