CO Ethics & Professional Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An orthotist discovers that a colleague has been billing Medicare for custom devices but providing prefabricated ones. What is the MOST appropriate first action?
- Ignore it as it does not affect patient care
- Report the conduct to the appropriate compliance officer or regulatory body (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague publicly at the next staff meeting
- Notify the patient only and take no further action
Correct answer: Report the conduct to the appropriate compliance officer or regulatory body
Fraudulent billing is a serious ethical and legal violation that must be reported to a compliance officer or regulatory authority.
Question 2: Which principle requires an orthotist to act in the patient's best interest even when it conflicts with the orthotist's financial gain?
- Autonomy
- Non-maleficence
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Justice
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence obligates practitioners to prioritize patient welfare above personal or financial interests.
Question 3: A patient requests a copy of their orthotic fitting records to share with another provider. Under HIPAA, the orthotist must:
- Deny the request to protect proprietary fitting data
- Provide the records within a reasonable timeframe as required by law (Correct answer)
- Charge a significant fee to discourage the transfer
- Obtain written permission from the referring physician first
Correct answer: Provide the records within a reasonable timeframe as required by law
HIPAA grants patients the right to access and receive copies of their own health records in a timely manner.
Question 4: An orthotist is offered a significant gift by a vendor in exchange for exclusively prescribing their products. Accepting this gift would violate which standard?
- Scope of practice
- Conflict of interest and professional independence (Correct answer)
- Continuing education requirements
- Supervision protocols
Correct answer: Conflict of interest and professional independence
Accepting gifts that influence product selection creates a conflict of interest and compromises clinical objectivity.
Question 5: When providing care to a minor patient, who holds primary decision-making authority for consent?
- The minor patient if they are over age 12
- The orthotist based on clinical judgment
- The parent or legal guardian (Correct answer)
- The referring physician
Correct answer: The parent or legal guardian
Parents or legal guardians are legally authorized to provide informed consent for medical treatment of minor children.
Question 6: A certified orthotist supervises a non-certified orthotic fitter. If the fitter makes an error resulting in patient harm, who bears professional responsibility?
- Only the fitter, since they performed the service
- The supervising orthotist shares responsibility for the supervised staff's actions (Correct answer)
- The clinic owner bears sole responsibility
- No one, as errors are expected in training environments
Correct answer: The supervising orthotist shares responsibility for the supervised staff's actions
The supervising practitioner shares professional and ethical responsibility for the outcomes of those they supervise.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes the ethical obligation of veracity in orthotics practice?
- Keeping patient records confidential
- Being truthful with patients about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options (Correct answer)
- Referring patients to specialists when outside scope of practice
- Maintaining professional boundaries with patients
Correct answer: Being truthful with patients about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options
Veracity is the duty to be honest with patients so they can make informed decisions about their care.
CO Ethics & Professional Standards 2
An orthotist discovers that a colleague has been billing Medicare for custom devices but providing prefabricated ones.
What is the MOST appropriate first action?