Occupational Therapy Ethics Case Study

Introduction
In theory, abiding by the ethical principles would seem easy to do, especially in a healthcare field. Doing the “right” thing in order help people seems like it would just come naturally or be second nature. Before this course, I thought the ethical principles were more like rules, and therefore in order to make an ethical decision one just needed to apply the appropriate rule. Yet, some of the discussions and scenarios that were given in class demonstrated that there is not always a clear cut “rule” that applies perfectly to every situation. Thus, making ethical decisions or following the principles is not always easy, obvious, or straightforward. When thinking about occupational therapy, veracity is the principle that I think

Occupational therapists can overcome being dishonest for reimbursement purposes by using evidence-based practice and interventions. Policies such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is driving the healthcare system shift. Leland, Crum, Phipps, Roberts, and Gage (2015) state that “to align with the priorities of the ACA, we need to ensure that the care occupational therapy practitioners provide and document is grounded in evidence and is patient centered” (p. 4). Occupational therapy practitioners can make sure their care is evidence-based by keeping their membership in certain organizations, such as the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), reading current and relevant research found in journals such as the “American Journal of Occupational Therapy”, taking the appropriate continuing education courses, and obtaining the necessary certifications. If productivity standards are causing therapists to be unethical or dishonest in their documentation, AOTA (2016) provided some tips online that are helpful for therapists to use. Therapists can consider treating their clients in groups. However, therapists will have to make sure that they are abiding by group therapy insurance guidelines such as those provided by Medicare. Another tip that AOTA (2016) provided to deal with productivity challenges is for therapists to become more efficient in their documentation skills. Articles such as “Record Time” (Waite, 2012) from the magazine OT Practice, provide practical tips on how therapists can become more efficient, yet remain accurate with their documentation. Finally, even though therapists may want to ensure that their client’s services are paid for, it is important to make documentation is honest in regards to clients’ capacities and capabilities. Stover (2016) states that therapists can do this