CHI Professional Ethics & Standards 5

Question 1

A health informatician discovers that a recently deployed algorithm systematically underestimates pain scores for a specific ethnic group. The immediate ethical obligation is to:

Accepted Answer

Halt or flag the algorithm and escalate to clinical and ethics leadership

Answer

An algorithm causing disparate harm must be flagged immediately, as non-maleficence and justice principles require action to prevent ongoing patient harm.

Question 2

Which professional standards framework is most commonly referenced for guiding ethical behavior of informaticians who hold CPHIMS certification?

Accepted Answer

HIMSS Code of Ethics

Answer

HIMSS publishes its own Code of Ethics, which is the primary framework for CPHIMS-certified health informatics professionals.

Question 3

When a health informatician is uncertain whether an action is ethically permissible, the BEST first resource is:

Accepted Answer

The organization's ethics committee or compliance officer

Answer

Organizations have ethics committees and compliance officers specifically to provide guidance on ambiguous ethical situations.

Question 4

Which scenario demonstrates an ethical application of secondary use of health data?

Accepted Answer

Using de-identified data to study population health trends with IRB approval

Answer

IRB-approved research using properly de-identified data represents ethical secondary use aligned with professional standards.

Question 5

A health informatician receives a subpoena requesting patient records. The appropriate response is to:

Accepted Answer

Consult legal counsel and the privacy officer before disclosing any records

Answer

Legal counsel and the privacy officer must be consulted to determine what disclosures are legally required and how to comply without over-disclosing.

(CHI) Certified Health Informatician Practice Test

(CHI) Certified Health Informatician Practice Test

CHI Professional Ethics & Standards 5