Ethics

AAPC Code of Ethics

AAPC members shall:

* Maintain and enhance the dignity, status, integrity, competence, and standards of our profession.

* Respect the privacy of others and honor confidentiality

* Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the process and products of professional work.

* Advance the profession through continued professional development and education by acquiring and maintaining professional competence.

* Know and respect existing federal, state and local laws, regulations, certifications and licensing requirements applicable to professional work.

* Use only legal and ethical principles that reflect the profession’s core values and report activity that is perceived to violate this Code of Ethics to the AAPC Ethics Committee.

* Accurately represent the credential(s) earned and the status of AAPC membership.

* Avoid actions and circumstances that may appear to compromise good business judgment or create a conflict between personal and professional interests.

RESPECT THE PRIVACY OF OTHERS AND HONOR CONFIDENTIALITY

I feel out of the eight codes of ethics, this is by far the most complicated one to adhere. In this day of technology, mainly with electronic health records, I foresee cradle to grave records in order to drive delivery of healthcare to the individual person. With this in place we can link genetics to clinical protocols and in turn find links to disease and treatments tailored to the individual. This is all wonderful, but given recent hacking into databases of large corporations, when will EHCR be next. Our records already include our most private of information such as Social Security numbers. Should the Affordable Care Act not work out as planned, information is then accessible to insurance companies who could use it to their advantage and not mine. What happens when the government enters my treatment room through managed care, HIPPA or even the Patriot Act?

Privacy and...