Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Ethics and Professionalism
Lecture:Ethical issues in health informatics
Slide content:Ethics and Professionalism Summary Professionalism requires that people act in accordance with the standards of their profession Health care professionals must meet both ethical and legal standards Informed consent, end-of-life issues, conflicts of interest, health care disparities, and conscientious objection are among the many difficult ethical issues faced by health care professionals Codes of ethics provide guidance for health informatics professionals 22
Slide notes:This also concludes Ethics and Professionalism . In summary, professionalism requires individuals to maintain their work-related skills and adhere to ethical and legal standards. However, behaving ethically as an individual is not enough. A professional must also foster an ethical work environment and correct the unethical practices of others. The health care field as a whole presents many difficult ethical dilemmas, including the need for informed consent, end-of-life issues, conflicts of interest, health care disparities, and conscientious objection. The general standards of ethical behavior and professionalism that apply to health care providers, such as doctors and nurses, also apply to health informatics professionals. The standards that apply specifically to the health informatics profession come from a variety of sources. Major sources of these standards are the codes of ethics written by health informatics professional societies. According to these codes, informatics professionals are expected to demonstrate competence, diligence, integrity, and loyalty. They also have an ethical duty not only to refrain from unethical behavior but also to discourage others from unethical behavior, to correct ethical problems when they occur, and to expose the unethical practices of others. 22