FCE Ethics & Professional Conduct 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An FCE report contains information that could be used to deny the claimant's workers' compensation benefits. Under HIPAA, who has the right to access this report?
- Only the claimant's treating physician
- Only the insurance carrier who paid for the evaluation
- Parties authorized by the signed consent and applicable workers' compensation law (Correct answer)
- No one without a court order
Correct answer: Parties authorized by the signed consent and applicable workers' compensation law
HIPAA permits disclosure to parties authorized by the claimant's signed release and under workers' compensation regulatory exceptions.
Question 2: An evaluator notices that a colleague routinely coaches claimants on how to perform better on validity tests. This conduct should be:
- Ignored if the colleague's reports are otherwise accurate
- Reported to the appropriate professional body or supervisor (Correct answer)
- Discussed privately with the colleague only if it occurs again
- Accepted as a legitimate clinical accommodation strategy
Correct answer: Reported to the appropriate professional body or supervisor
Coaching claimants on validity tests undermines test integrity and constitutes an ethical violation requiring formal reporting.
Question 3: Which documentation practice best supports the ethical standard of transparency in FCE reporting?
- Using subjective clinical impressions without citing specific test data
- Citing specific tests, normative data, and observable behaviors that support each conclusion (Correct answer)
- Summarizing findings verbally to the referral source rather than in writing
- Restricting detailed findings to a confidential appendix
Correct answer: Citing specific tests, normative data, and observable behaviors that support each conclusion
Transparency requires that all conclusions be traceable to specific, documented test results and observations that other professionals can review.
Question 4: A claimant who is a non-English speaker participates in an FCE conducted entirely in English without an interpreter. This situation raises concerns about:
- HIPAA compliance only
- Validity of informed consent and accuracy of the evaluation findings (Correct answer)
- ADA compliance only
- Insurance fraud
Correct answer: Validity of informed consent and accuracy of the evaluation findings
Conducting an FCE without addressing language barriers compromises informed consent and may invalidate findings based on misunderstood instructions.
Question 5: An FCE evaluator owns stock in a rehabilitation company that may receive referrals based on the FCE findings. This situation is best described as:
- Acceptable because stock ownership is passive and unrelated to clinical decisions
- A conflict of interest that must be disclosed to the referral source (Correct answer)
- A violation requiring the evaluator to sell the stock before completing any evaluation
- Only a conflict if the evaluator makes direct referrals
Correct answer: A conflict of interest that must be disclosed to the referral source
Financial interests in entities that benefit from evaluation outcomes constitute a conflict of interest requiring disclosure to maintain evaluator integrity.
Question 6: When a claimant revokes their consent to release the FCE report after the evaluation is complete, the evaluator's obligation is to:
- Honor the revocation and destroy the report immediately
- Explain that revocation does not retroactively void disclosures already made under the original consent (Correct answer)
- Withhold the report from all parties regardless of prior disclosures
- Seek a court order to determine next steps
Correct answer: Explain that revocation does not retroactively void disclosures already made under the original consent
Consent revocation is prospective and does not undo disclosures already lawfully made under the original authorization.
Question 7: A claimant asks the FCE evaluator to testify that their injury prevents all work, even though the evaluation found sedentary capacity. The evaluator should:
- Testify as requested to support the claimant's legal case
- Testify only to the objective findings from the evaluation (Correct answer)
- Refuse to testify in any legal proceeding
- Ask the referring attorney for guidance on testimony content
Correct answer: Testify only to the objective findings from the evaluation
Expert testimony must accurately reflect objective evaluation findings; an evaluator cannot misrepresent results to support any party's legal position.
FCE Ethics & Professional Conduct 3
An FCE report contains information that could be used to deny the claimant's workers' compensation benefits.
Under HIPAA, who has the right to access this report?