There’s no question. The healthcare industry is and has to be strictly regulated for the health of the patients and the viability of the services provided. And there are well-established ethics pillars associated with those who operate within the healthcare sectors. But what about those in private practice? What healthcare ethics should you prioritize? Additionally, what considerations apply to your business model of patient care the most? Keep reading. Today, we’ll highlight the best practices for healthcare ethics within the private practice setting. Having these ethics considerations on your radar will ensure you take the necessary steps to provide the highest quality care and ethically enforced services.

Consider Your Ethics Policies for Practitioners

Does your private practice have specific ethics policies and procedures in place that govern the behaviors and activities of your practitioners? Consider improving your policies so that doctors, nurses, and practicing staff all know the ethical parameters to which they are expected to adhere. Provide thorough definitions and transparent consequences for violations. And empower your teams with an anonymous ethics hotline channel, so any concerns can quickly and effectively be reported.

Healthcare Ethics with Care Services

Access to care, continuity of care, and care collaboration are all private practice areas that require ethical oversight. Your office policies should outline expectations for patients through a lens of ethical service provisions. Prioritizing the quality of care for all your patients is paramount. So, make sure your ethics policies reflect the highest standards.

Ethics in Ownership, Documentation, and Billing

Ethics violations in healthcare aren’t limited to patient care and service. There are risks in the back office, too. Be sure your private practice ethics initiatives include procedures for patient documents, billing, and reporting. Ethics hotlines are especially helpful in these arenas, considering the digital communication channels and software most private practices leverage today.

Ethics in Data Security and Privacy

Speaking of digital communication, consider reviewing your current healthcare ethics as they apply to patient data management, privacy, and sharing. The threats of data breaches are more prominent today than ever before. But how your private practice manages the transfer of patient data, in line with HIPAA guidelines, needs to be intently supervised. Patient confidentiality is paramount, and your in-house ethics policies should be definitive about the guidelines your teams should be following.

Establish an Ethics Hotline

Your private practice can improve ethics policy enforcement with the use of an ethics hotline. These anonymous reporting tools make it safe and easy for anyone within your organization to raise their hand with ethics concerns. They’ll provide you with early detection of potential violations or behavior before they become costly fines or result in litigation, too. And with every potential ethics hotline call, your private practice has insights to affect improvements in how policies are managed and enforced.

Let Ethical Advocate be your ethics oversight partner in 2023. We can help you review your current strategies and offer solutions and improvements to ensure you maintain the highest ethical standards. With tools and resources, including an ethics hotline, you can lay in the methods and ethics policies today’s private practices need.