Healthcare Administration’s Code of Ethics: Part 1 The American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) has created a well-defined code of ethics that they expect every heath care administrator to follow to the “t.” If healthcare administration is your preferred field, you would do well to study this code thoroughly before entering into the program. As a healthcare administrator, you will be expected to be honest, moral and patient oriented. As you read through the first two expectations, consider carefully if you can commit yourself to live this lifestyle.
Your Role in the Lives of Patients If you can or want to, then this could be just the field for you. The first expectation is that you will always hold the welfare of your patients above everything else. You play such an important role in the lives of your patients. They put their lives into your hands every time they walk into your office. Even if you’re doing something as simple as a standard check-up. The things you tell them will become law. They will accept your diagnosis and take whatever prescriptions you tell them to. The wrong prescriptions at the wrong doses or the wrong treatment of an ailment can lead to disastrous consequences. You have the power to either help patients, or ruin them. It is so important that you respect the position that you have and place their needs and comforts before your own.
Pushing you outside Your Comfort Zone This means that if you have to call a patient in the middle of the night because you realized you gave them the wrong prescription, or you have to face an angry co-worker, you do it. It is for sure more comfortable to avoid these things. But your job in healthcare administration will require you to step outside your comfort zone if it’s in the best interest of your patients. The second expectation as a healthcare administrator is that you maintain the highest standards of professional competence. This means that you recognize that you never know enough, ironically. In the public eye you are expected to know everything. It’s as simple as that. When something’s wrong, they come to you
and you fix it. You, on the other hand, recognize that you do not know everything and study hard to make sure you’re always improving. The medical world is in a constant state of flux. Treatments and diagnoses are improving all the time. So you not only need to know how to identify a flu and treat it, you need to know how the flu has looked in the past and how it is changing. Strive to be current in all your information. You can never know enough. The day you assume you do is the day that you will need to hit the books harder than ever, because you’re already outdated. The point of this article is not to make you fear health care administration. The point is to help you understand the nature of the beast. You have the ability to change people’s lives. Working in that great of an office requires the most careful professional. Strive every day to be at your best. Photo Source: StevensHenager.edu Photo Source: StevensHenager.edu