Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 310 - Oklahoma State Department of Health › Chapter 679 - LONG-TERM CARE ADMINISTRATORS › Subchapter 10 - Licensing of Long-Term care Administrators › Part 10 - STANDARDS FOR ADMINISTRATORS › Section 310:679-10-50 - Administrator Code of Ethics

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a) The Board is committed to ethical
				  professional conduct and therefore adopts the following standards to establish
				  and maintain a high degree of integrity and dignity in the profession and to
				  protect the public against unprofessional conduct on the part of long term care
				  administrators. All long term care administrators and AITs shall be encouraged
				  to participate in their professional association, the American College of
				  Health Care Administrators (ACHCA and often referred to as "the college") as a
				  means of continually improving themselves as long term care professionals and
				  another source for CEUs.
(b) The
				  American College of Health Care Administrators Code of Ethics is adopted as
				  follows:
(1) Preamble: The preservation of
				  the highest standards of integrity and ethical principles is vital to the
				  successful discharge of the professional responsibilities of all long-term
				  health care administrators. This Code of Ethics has been promulgated by the
				  American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) in an effort to stress
				  the fundamental rules considered essential to this basic purpose. It shall be
				  the obligation of members to seek to avoid not only conduct specifically
				  proscribed by the code, but also conduct that is inconsistent with its spirit
				  and purpose. Failure to specify any particular responsibility or practice in
				  this Code of Ethics should not be construed as denial of the existence of other
				  responsibilities or practices. Recognizing that the ultimate responsibility for
				  applying standards and ethics falls upon the individual, the ACHCA establishes
				  the following Code of Ethics to make clear its expectation of the
				  membership.
(2) Expectation I:
				  Individuals shall hold paramount the welfare of persons for whom care is
				  provided.
(A) Prescriptions: The Health Care
				  Administrator shall:
(i) Strive to provide to
				  all those entrusted to his or her care the highest quality of appropriate
				  services possible in light of resources or other constraints.
(ii) Operate the facility consistent with
				  laws, regulations, and standards of practice recognized in the field of health
				  care administration.
(iii)
				  Consistent with law and professional standards, protect the confidentiality of
				  information regarding individual recipients of care.
(iv) Perform administrative duties with the
				  personal integrity that will earn the confidence, trust, and respect of the
				  general public.
(v) Take
				  appropriate steps to avoid discrimination on the basis of race, color,
				  religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national
				  origin, age, physical or mental disability, past, present or future status in
				  the U.S. uniformed services, genetics, or any other characteristic protected
				  under applicable law.
(B) Proscription: The Health Care
				  Administrator shall not: Disclose professional or personal information
				  regarding recipients of service to unauthorized personnel unless required by
				  law or to protect the public welfare.
(3) Expectation II: Individuals shall
				  maintain high standards of professional competence.
(A) Prescriptions: The Health Care
				  Administrator shall:
(i) Possess and maintain
				  the competencies necessary to effectively perform his or her
				  responsibilities.
(ii) Practice
				  administration in accordance with capabilities and proficiencies and, when
				  appropriate, seek counsel from qualified others.
(iii) Actively strive to enhance knowledge of
				  and expertise in long-term care administration through continuing education and
				  professional development.
(iv)
				  Demonstrate conduct that is in the best interest of the profession.
(B) Proscriptions: The Health Care
				  Administrator shall not:
(i) Misrepresent
				  qualifications, education, experience, or affiliations.
(ii) Provide services other than those for
				  which he or she is prepared and qualified to perform.
(iii) Conduct themselves in a manner
				  detrimental to the best interest of the profession.
(4) Expectation III: Individuals
				  shall strive, in all matters relating to their professional functions, to
				  maintain a professional posture that places paramount the interests of the
				  facility and its residents.
(A) Prescriptions:
				  The Health Care Administrator shall:
(i) Avoid
				  partisanship and provide a forum for the fair resolution of any disputes which
				  may arise in service delivery or facility management.
(ii) Disclose to the governing body or other
				  authority as may be appropriate, any actual or potential circumstance
				  concerning him or her that might reasonably be thought to create a conflict of
				  interest or have a substantial adverse impact on the facility or its
				  residents.
(B)
				  Proscriptions: The Health Care Administrator shall not: Participate in
				  activities that reasonably may be thought to create a conflict of interest or
				  have the potential to have a substantial adverse impact on the facility or its
				  residents.
(5)
				  Expectation IV: Individuals shall honor their responsibilities to the public,
				  their profession, and their relationships with colleagues and members of
				  related professions.
(A) Prescriptions: The
				  Health Care Administrator shall:
(i) Foster
				  increased knowledge within the profession of health care administration and
				  support research efforts toward this end.
(ii) Participate with others in the community
				  to plan for and provide a full range of health care services.
(iii) Share areas of expertise with
				  colleagues, students, and the general public to increase awareness and promote
				  understanding of health care in general and the profession in
				  particular.
(iv) Inform the ACHCA
				  Standards and Ethics Committee of actual or potential violations of this Code
				  of Ethics, and fully cooperate with the ACHCA's sanctioned inquiries into
				  matters of professional conduct related to this Code of Ethics.
(B) Proscription: The Health Care
				  Administrator shall not: Defend, support, or ignore unethical conduct
				  perpetrated by colleagues, peers or students.