This course will examine ethics in today’s evolving healthcare environment.  This course will look at the evolution of privacy and the ethical dilemmas that result from current laws, social and cultural implications.  A practitioner’s approach to ethics has a direct impact on the quality of patient care and the liability of the organization for which they work.  Healthcare practitioners, i.e., substance abuse counselors, psychiatric aides, gerontologists, social services workers, are expected to be knowledgeable about today’s healthcare laws and ethical codes.

Overall Course Objectives | Major Course Topics | Course Format | Orientation
Course Requirements | Texts and Materials |Exams | Course Web Site

Overall Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Define and explain the difference between the law, ethics and morals.
• Describe practitioner liability in ethical situations and site examples of legal risks.
• Describe components of electronic transaction and privacy standards.
• Articulate the requirements of HIPAA and the Privacy Act.
• Recognize and describe components of an “Ethical Dilemma”.
• Access resources that will assist the student in the ethical decision making process.

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Major Course Topics

• Ethics
• • General Definition
  • Differentiation between law, morals and ethics
  • Ethical climate of healthcare delivery
• The Legal and Social Environment of Ethics
• • Practitioner Legal Liability
  • Legal and Practice Concerns in Organized Systems of Healthcare
  • Consequences of Unethical Behavior
  • How Basic Business Skills can help Resolve many of the Ethical Problems in Managed Care
• Patient Privacy
• • Electronic Transactions and Privacy
  • HIPAA and Privacy Regulations
  • Anticipating the Future; Rights vs. Efficiency
• Survival Tools
• • Organizational “Code of Ethics”
• Professional Association Samples
• Company Samples
• Recognizing an “Ethical Dilemma
• Ethical Case Studies (Based on student curriculum strategies)
• • Mental Health
  • Gerontology
  • Chemical Dependency
  • Human Research Scenarios

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Course Format

•   Is self-paced.
•   One On Campus Orientation meeting.
•   Does not require real-time chats.

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Orientation

This course does not have a face to face orientation.

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Course Requirements

Review the “What you should know before you register” section of the Distance Learning home page.

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Texts and Materials

Textbook information:  To visit our bookstore's online sales site, please visit www.howardccbooks.com and follow the instructions for selecting textbooks.

Technical Requirements and Plug-Ins:

Review the Technical Requirements link above. The following plug-ins are required for this course:

• Acrobat Viewer
• Flash
• Internet Explorer
• PowerPoint Viewer, if you don’t have the full version of Microsoft PowerPoint
• QuickTime
• Real Player
• Windows Media Player
• Word Viewer, if you don’t have the full version of Microsoft Word

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Exams

For purposes of verification and assessing learning outcomes, this course has a proctored Midterm and final exam at the HCC Test Center, unless alternate plans are approved by the instructor. The exams will have a flexible window of time during which it needs to be taken rather than a single date and time.