CHS Ethics & Professional Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal law primarily governs the confidentiality of patient health information in U.S. hyperbaric facilities?
- OSHA 1910.146
- HIPAA Privacy Rule (Correct answer)
- The Americans with Disabilities Act
- The Joint Commission Standard EC.02.01.01
Correct answer: HIPAA Privacy Rule
The HIPAA Privacy Rule sets national standards for protecting individually identifiable health information.
Question 2: A hyperbaric professional uses social media to share a photo from inside the chamber that inadvertently reveals a patient's face. This violates:
- OSHA fire safety regulations
- HIPAA by disclosing protected health information without consent (Correct answer)
- NBDHMT equipment standards
- The Joint Commission infection control standards
Correct answer: HIPAA by disclosing protected health information without consent
Sharing identifiable patient images without written authorization constitutes an unauthorized disclosure of PHI under HIPAA.
Question 3: In the context of hyperbaric practice, 'beneficence' most directly refers to:
- Charging fair and transparent fees
- Actively promoting patient well-being through competent, evidence-based care (Correct answer)
- Maintaining accurate billing records
- Following all state licensing laws
Correct answer: Actively promoting patient well-being through competent, evidence-based care
Beneficence requires practitioners to act in the patient's best interest, providing care that confers genuine benefit.
Question 4: A patient asks a hyperbaric technologist for their opinion on whether they should discontinue a medication before treatments. The technologist should:
- Give a recommendation based on their clinical experience
- Tell the patient to stop the medication if it could interfere with oxygen therapy
- Refer the question to the supervising hyperbaric physician (Correct answer)
- Look up the answer online and relay it to the patient
Correct answer: Refer the question to the supervising hyperbaric physician
Medication decisions are outside the scope of a hyperbaric technologist and must be directed to the supervising physician.
Question 5: What does 'justice' as an ethical principle require of a hyperbaric facility?
- Ensuring the most profitable patients are treated first
- Fair and equitable distribution of care regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status (Correct answer)
- Charging all patients the same fee regardless of insurance
- Treating only patients referred by in-network physicians
Correct answer: Fair and equitable distribution of care regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status
Justice demands that healthcare resources and treatment be distributed fairly and without discriminatory barriers.
Question 6: A hyperbaric chamber operator witnesses a physician ordering a treatment that appears medically inappropriate. The appropriate ethical response is to:
- Administer the treatment since physician orders take precedence
- Raise the concern with the physician and document it; escalate if unresolved (Correct answer)
- Refuse treatment and discharge the patient
- Contact the patient's insurance company for guidance
Correct answer: Raise the concern with the physician and document it; escalate if unresolved
All healthcare team members have an ethical duty to question orders that appear harmful and escalate unresolved concerns through proper channels.
Question 7: Maintaining the NBDHMT CHS credential requires recertification every:
- 1 year with 10 CEUs
- 2 years with 20 CEUs
- 3 years with 30 CEUs (Correct answer)
- 5 years with 50 CEUs
Correct answer: 3 years with 30 CEUs
The NBDHMT requires CHS credential holders to complete 30 continuing education units within each 3-year recertification cycle.
CHS Ethics & Professional Standards 3
Which federal law primarily governs the confidentiality of patient health information in U.S. hyperbaric facilities?