CHS Ethics & Professional Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A hyperbaric technologist discovers that a colleague has been falsifying treatment logs to meet productivity quotas. What is the MOST appropriate first action?
- Ignore it to avoid workplace conflict
- Report the behavior to a supervisor or through the facility's compliance channel (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague publicly during a staff meeting
- Alter the logs back to accurate values without reporting
Correct answer: Report the behavior to a supervisor or through the facility's compliance channel
Falsifying medical records is both unethical and illegal, and must be reported through proper institutional channels.
Question 2: Under the NBDHMT Code of Ethics, which principle obligates hyperbaric professionals to maintain current knowledge and competency?
- Beneficence only
- Non-maleficence only
- Continuing professional development and lifelong learning (Correct answer)
- Autonomy of the patient
Correct answer: Continuing professional development and lifelong learning
The NBDHMT Code requires practitioners to pursue ongoing education to maintain and improve their clinical competency.
Question 3: A patient refuses to remove a contraindicated item before entering the hyperbaric chamber despite being informed of the risk. What should the technologist do?
- Proceed with treatment since the patient signed a consent form
- Document the refusal, notify the physician, and defer treatment until resolved (Correct answer)
- Remove the item without the patient's permission
- Proceed and note the item in the log after treatment
Correct answer: Document the refusal, notify the physician, and defer treatment until resolved
Patient refusal of safety protocols must be documented and escalated to the supervising physician before proceeding.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes the ethical concept of 'non-maleficence' in hyperbaric medicine?
- Ensuring the patient pays for all services rendered
- Obtaining informed consent before every procedure
- Avoiding actions that cause unnecessary harm to the patient (Correct answer)
- Treating all patients regardless of ability to pay
Correct answer: Avoiding actions that cause unnecessary harm to the patient
Non-maleficence means 'do no harm' and requires practitioners to avoid actions that could unnecessarily injure patients.
Question 5: A hyperbaric facility is asked by an insurance company to provide detailed patient records without patient authorization. What is the correct response?
- Provide all records immediately to ensure reimbursement
- Release records only after obtaining proper patient authorization or a valid legal order (Correct answer)
- Provide a summary but withhold the full chart
- Refuse all disclosure regardless of circumstances
Correct answer: Release records only after obtaining proper patient authorization or a valid legal order
HIPAA requires patient authorization or a valid legal mandate before disclosing protected health information to third parties.
Question 6: When a CHS credential holder is found to have practiced outside their scope while certified, the MOST likely consequence from NBDHMT is:
- A verbal warning with no record
- Mandatory additional coursework only
- Suspension or revocation of the credential (Correct answer)
- A financial fine payable to the patient
Correct answer: Suspension or revocation of the credential
NBDHMT can suspend or revoke credentials for practice outside the defined scope of a certified hyperbaric specialist.
Question 7: A CHS technologist is asked by their employer to perform a procedure not covered by their training or credential. The ethical response is to:
- Perform the procedure to avoid conflict with the employer
- Decline and explain that the task falls outside their credentialed scope of practice (Correct answer)
- Perform the procedure but document it as a different task
- Ask a colleague to perform it and co-sign the record
Correct answer: Decline and explain that the task falls outside their credentialed scope of practice
Scope of practice boundaries exist to protect patients, and practitioners must decline tasks that exceed their training and credential.
CHS Ethics & Professional Standards 2
A hyperbaric technologist discovers that a colleague has been falsifying treatment logs to meet productivity quotas.
What is the MOST appropriate first action?