Case Study BHIS 480
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Feb 20, 2024
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Unit 1 Case Study- Ethical Decision Making
Nidhi Vala
University of Illinois at Chicago
College of Applied Health Sciences, Health Information Management
BHIS 480 – Management & Business Practices
Prof. Barbara Glondys
January 12th, 2024
In the evolving field of healthcare, the role of accurate medical coding is crucial in
ensuring not only financial integrity but also quality patient care. The Director of Health
Information Management, has been faced with a scenario where an inpatient coder expresses
concerns regarding instructions from the coding supervisor. The directive to code all bedside
debridements as excisional, in addition to the physicians neglection of queries seeking
clarification, poses as a significant ethical challenge. This situation potentially violates AHIMA's
Standards of Ethical Coding, specifically Standard IV, which emphasizes the importance of
coding compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards. Additionally, it may also
contradict Standard V, which focuses on the preservation, protection, and security of personal
health information (AHIMA Code of Ethics 2019). The inpatient coder faced what is known as
an ethical dilemma which, “is a situation requiring a decision about a course of action that,
although offering potential benefits, may be unethical. As a further complication, there may be
no clear consensus on what is right and wrong.” (Schermerhorn & Bachrach 2023). Fortunately,
in this case the inpatient coder chose to be directed by their own morals that this situation was
unethical and communicated their concerns to the HIM director. Some implications the inpatient
coder could face had they followed the supervisors orders would be being negligent of the
coding being input along with raising concerns of integrity and honesty. The supervisor would
most likely face professional or legal consequences of instructing a coder to code inaccurately
and for compromising the quality of work being performed. Since the HIM director oversees the
functions of the facility they would be partially held accountable in addressing unethical
behavior. For the organization overall, they could face implications of legal or financial
consequences along with risking their reputation if they have unethical coding practices.
References
Ahima
Code
of
ethics
.
AHIMA
Body
of
KnowledgeTM.
(n.d.).
https://bok.ahima.org/topics/industry-resources/code-of-ethics/ Schermerhorn, J. R., & Bachrach, D. G. (2023). Exploring management
(7th ed.). John Wiley &
Sons Australia, Ltd.
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