agencies (HHA) and a new value-based home health model (PT in Motion News, 2015). The law will require that HHAs submit standardized patient assessment data and measures. HHAs will receive payment increases or reductions in a future year based on the quality of performance measures. Fundamentally, healthcare professionals need to be able to use quality measures to describe the value they bring to the healthcare system, given that future reimbursement will depend on these measures. This raises the question of what metrics to use to measure outcomes, and how to store, aggregate, interpret, and disseminate data. The goal is to develop uniform Conclusion The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist and Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant are designed to guide the practitioner, educator, researcher, administrator, and student toward competency and ethical behavior in the performance of his or her duties and roles. Regardless of the duties or roles performed, physical therapy practitioners are expected to aspire to the highest level of moral standards. The standards are organized according to four principles of morality – beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice – with the principle of justice being subdivided into social and procedural justice. In addition, there are two principles related to client- therapist relationships: veracity and fidelity. Each principle addresses areas of moral values that physical therapy personnel view as important, including altruism, dignity, equality, freedom, prudence, and truth. Contained within these principles are important concepts that should be upheld, such as maintaining professional competence, basing intervention on established evidence, providing continuity of service, ensuring informed consent, maintaining confidentiality, providing just and fair Glossary ● Autonomy: ( auto, self; nomas, law). The right of an individual to self-determination; “self-rule that is free from both controlling interference by others and from certain limitations … that prevent meaningful choice” (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013, p. 101). ● Beneficence: ( bene faceae, to do well). Refers to an action done to benefit others (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). ● Care ethics (ethics of care): In an ethics of care approach, ethical decision making is guided by the needs and goals of the client and family within a particular context (Doherty & Purtilo, 2016). Physical therapy personnel who use an ethics of care approach recognize it is the relationships they develop with their clients that bring moral significance to clinical practice. Thus, ethical decisions focus on preserving that relationship or connection with the client for responsible decision making. ● Caring: Refers to care for, emotional commitment to, and deep willingness to act on behalf of persons with whom one has a significant relationship (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). ● Character traits: A character trait is a disposition to act in a certain way. Those who have high character traits that are often praised by others are often referred to having high moral character (Doherty & Purtilo, 2016). ● Code of ethics: A set of standards and principles of professional conduct (VanderBos, 2007). ● Confidentiality: Confidentiality is viewed as an extension of privacy, in that an individual has voluntarily disclosed, in a relationship of trust, private information about himself or herself with the expectation that it will not be divulged without permission (Andrews, Mehlman, & Rothstein, 2006). ● Conflict of interest: A situation in which individuals or groups are drawn to the pursuit of goals or outcomes that are incompatible with the goals they are supposed to be pursuing (VanderBos, 2007).
outcome measures for specific conditions. Other potential ethical issues that may arise are: ● Should the goal of healthcare be tied to financial incentives and disincentives instead of what is in the best medical interest of the individual client? ● Will incentives for a few specific elements of a single disease neglect the complexity of care for the whole client, especially older clients with chronic conditions? ● Will healthcare providers begin to “cherry pick” clients that they judge have the most promising outcomes for cost of services, thus making it difficult for clients with complex conditions to receive home health care service? treatment, maintaining proper credentialing, documenting in an accurate and timely manner, stewarding resources, and avoiding conflicts of interest. In addition, physical therapy practitioners are expected to know and use techniques designed to address ethical problems as they arise in their professional practice. Physical therapy practitioners should take the opportunity throughout their careers to examine the APTA Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist (2010b) and the APTA Guide for Professional Conduct (2010a) in detail and explore the enforcement procedures used by the APTA with its members. Considering the case studies of the many potential violations of the APTA Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist and having practice in solving a variety of ethical problems will equip the learner with the skills needed to identify potential ethical issues in his or her own practice and to respond in accordance with the ethical standards adopted by the profession. Continuous reflection on the ethical dimensions of practice is essential to continued competency. ● Consequentialism: A label affixed to theories holding that actions are right or wrong according to the balance of their good and bad consequences (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). ● Deontology (nonconsequentialism; formalism): ( deon, duty). Deontological theory is based on the concept of duties and rights (Doherty & Purtilo, 2016). Deontological theories hold that you are acting rightly when you act according to duties. ● Distributive justice: Fair, equitable, and appropriate distribution determined by justified norms that structure the terms of social cooperation; refers broadly to the distribution of all rights and responsibilities in society (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). ● Due care: Taking sufficient and appropriate care to avoid causing harm, as the circumstances demand of a reasonable and prudent person (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). ● Duty: Actions required of professionals by society or actions that are self-imposed. ● Ethical approaches: An ethical approach is a step (and a component) in an overall framework of ethical decision making. Depending on the ethical case and the type of information practitioners may need, an individual may choose to use one or more of these approaches in their ethical decision-making framework (Doherty & Purtilo, 2016). ● Ethical dilemma: A situation in which one moral conviction or right action conflicts with another; exists because there is no one, clear-cut, right answer (Slater, 2011). A type of situation that involves two (or more) morally correct courses of action that cannot both be followed (Doherty & Purtilo, 2016). ● Ethical distress: See moral distress. ● Ethics: A systematic study of and reflection on morality (Doherty & Purtilo, 2016).
Page 19
Book Code: PTNJ0824
EliteLearning.com/Physical-Therapy
Powered by FlippingBook