Professional codes of ethics are essential in the healthcare industry and among healthcare practitioners because they help members recognize dilemmas in ethical decision-making. Furthermore, the professional code of ethics has been lauded for its ability to help members make good judgments and decisions depending on their values, alongside ensuring that they do not break government laws (Aitamaa et al., 2019). The professional code of ethics selected is the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), an association dedicated to changing the global healthcare system using information and technology. Undeniably, technology has become a lever in the healthcare sector, and its use in improving the quality of care services has increased significantly over the past years. HIMSS empowers healthcare providers and facilities through healthcare innovations, workforce development, and public policy to ensure that sustainable goals in the global healthcare sector have been met (Mouton, 2016). As a result, HIMSS has a code of ethics designed to act as a framework for professional and personal conduct. Therefore, the HIMSS code of ethics is essential in helping members overcome potential consequences associated with unethical conduct in the healthcare industry.
Summary of the Main Points
The second HIMSS code of ethics dictates that members should uphold respect, honesty, good faith, fairness, and integrity in their professional and personal activities in a way that portrays a good image to society. The code requires members to promote the best professional and personal practices while behaving in an appropriate manner to ensure that the services they offer to others are above self-interest (HIMSS, 2022). This code of ethics also reminds members about the HIMSS values, ethical principles, and mission that should be consistent by maintaining good faith, fairness, and integrity. Taking unfair advantage is also prohibited by HIMSS’s second code of ethics, as it ensures that individual exploitation is eliminated to serve society with dignity and fairness (HIMSS, 2022). The fifth HIMSS code of ethics requires members to avoid the use of professional relationships to make exploitations within the society, whether they are elected or appointed. Participating in all forms of unethical manner has been discouraged because it undermines the values of society. Professionals are not allowed to use their positions to obtain favors such as sexual favors or financial favors. The seventh HIMSS code of ethics requires members to respect professional confidence (HIMSS, 2022). Generally, respecting professional confidence requires members to safeguard the security and privacy of both written and electronic information and take the appropriate precautions to maintain confidentiality.
Benefits of the HIMSS Code of Ethics
The HIMSS code of ethics is important in the healthcare practice because it ensures that professionals and members act with fairness, integrity, and good faith to provide services to the public and individuals they serve. According to Collings-Hughes et al. (2022), integrity in healthcare practice ensures that the community and patients receive the required care services. Professionals with integrity, fairness and good faith also make good decisions when they face ethical issues. For example, a professional with integrity and fairness will serve all patients equally and provide the same services without favoring others whom they share a religious background with. The HIMSS code of ethics is also crucial in ensuring that there is confidentiality in information shared among members. The HIMSS code of ethics makes members responsible for safeguarding the security and privacy of health information and patient data (HIMSS, 2022). The code also reminds professionals of the need to take precautions to maintain and ensure high standards of confidentiality during information sharing. For instance, a healthcare provider should not reveal the healthcare condition of a patient to third parties, such as lovers, without the patient’s consent (HIMSS, 2022). Therefore, the code of ethics is beneficial in ensuring that better decisions are made and confidentiality of information is preserved by taking precautions and safeguarding measures.
How HIMSS Code of Ethics Can Guide Logical Decision-Making
Healthcare professionals can practice competently by utilizing the code of ethics as a framework for logical decision-making. The code of ethics offers universal values for healthcare practitioners to help them determine what kinds of actions and interventions they should use to handle patients with different difficulties. Ethics helps healthcare practitioners to easily recognize what is right and wrong and make decisions that they understand their consequences. Furthermore, the code of ethics guides professionals to make good judgments and choices depending on the values that guide them while ensuring that they do not break the laws (Kozlowski & Sweanor, 2016). For example, the HIMSS code of ethics can guide professionals and help them learn how to handle a lover who has requested to secretly know the HIV status of a partner who is hospitalized. Also, the HIMSS can help professionals identify the need for keeping electronic healthcare records safe and free from intrusion by third parties.
Application of HIMSS Code of Ethics to a Specific Ethical Issue
The HIMSS code of ethics can be applied in the healthcare profession, whereby healthcare providers are required to keep patient information private. In a case where an adult patient tests positive for HIV and asks the healthcare provider not to inform the wife about the result because he fills it is not the appropriate time to inform him. The healthcare provider may use the ethical code of conduct to deal with this ethical issue. The healthcare provider may decide to inform the wife because she is at serious risk of contracting HIV, and if she has contracted it, she should begin early medications. Most laws also require reports to be submitted to local health officers. Therefore, the healthcare provider will remain with the option of convincing the patient to share information about his health status.
Conclusion
The use of a professional code of ethics in different disciplines is crucial, and members should observe values and practices set as a guide to their conduct. Professional code of ethics has been lauded for their ability to help members make good judgments and decisions depending on their values, alongside ensuring that they do not break the government laws. The HIMSS code of ethics is crucial in ensuring that there is confidentiality in information shared among members. The code of ethics makes members responsible for safeguarding the security and privacy of health information and patient data. Finally, the HIMSS code of ethics also reminds professionals of the need to take precautions to maintain and ensure high standards of confidentiality during information sharing.
References
Aitamaa, E., Suhonen, R., Puukka, P., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2019). Ethical problems in nursing management–a cross-sectional survey about solving problems. BMC health services research, 19(1), 1-11. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-019-4245-4
Collings-Hughes, D., Townsend, R., & Williams, B. (2022). Paramedics use and understand their professional code of conduct. Nursing Ethics, 09697330221130607. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330221130607
Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS). (2022). Code of Ethics 2002. http://ethicscodescollection.org/detail/8988ce36-4fe5-45a4-a150-a8829d8a637f
Kozlowski, L. T., & Sweanor, D. (2016). Withholding differential risk information on legal consumer nicotine/tobacco products: The public health ethics of health information quarantines. International Journal of Drug Policy, 32, 17-23. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395916300925
Mouton, D. C. (2016). Rethinking the ethical approach to health information management through narration: pertinence of Ricœur’s ‘little ethics .’Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy, 19, 531-543.
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