Ethical Dilemma - Case Study Rita returned to work after a period off for maternity leave...

Transcribed Image Text:

Ethical Dilemma - Case Study Rita returned to work after a period off for maternity leave and is now employed at a neighborhood medical office part-time as an accountant. She reports to a practice manager who supervises other physicians employed at the practice. Sometime during her second week on the job, Rita observed that one of the physicians seemed to have treated more patients than had checked in at the waiting room. For the sake of improved accuracy, the office uses an electronic waiting room program to record and track patient attendance. It's also used to document how many patients the practice's doctors are seeing over a given period. This method is partially used to help determine a physician's income. When Rita discussed the discrepancy with the doctor, he indicated it was a mistake on his part. He told Rita that the practice manager would be informed of the error and that it would be corrected by the end of the week. When Rita reviewed the patient records at the end of the week, she noticed that the mistake had not been corrected. So, she decided to make the necessary corrections to the record herself. When Rita checked the waiting room program the next week she discovered her entries had been removed from the system. Rita was upset by this, so she confronted the doctor about it. The doctor took exception to Rita and told her that her job was only to record payments and expenses nothing more. He told Rita to leave any business matters to him and others at the practice who understand how a business functions. Notwithstanding this Rita remains concerned about the doctor's deliberately falsifying of patient attendance records. Ques. What would you do if you were in Rita's place? Who are the people involved in this case who would be affected by any decision or action taken? Word limit: 750 words. Ethical Dilemma - Case Study Rita returned to work after a period off for maternity leave and is now employed at a neighborhood medical office part-time as an accountant. She reports to a practice manager who supervises other physicians employed at the practice. Sometime during her second week on the job, Rita observed that one of the physicians seemed to have treated more patients than had checked in at the waiting room. For the sake of improved accuracy, the office uses an electronic waiting room program to record and track patient attendance. It's also used to document how many patients the practice's doctors are seeing over a given period. This method is partially used to help determine a physician's income. When Rita discussed the discrepancy with the doctor, he indicated it was a mistake on his part. He told Rita that the practice manager would be informed of the error and that it would be corrected by the end of the week. When Rita reviewed the patient records at the end of the week, she noticed that the mistake had not been corrected. So, she decided to make the necessary corrections to the record herself. When Rita checked the waiting room program the next week she discovered her entries had been removed from the system. Rita was upset by this, so she confronted the doctor about it. The doctor took exception to Rita and told her that her job was only to record payments and expenses nothing more. He told Rita to leave any business matters to him and others at the practice who understand how a business functions. Notwithstanding this Rita remains concerned about the doctor's deliberately falsifying of patient attendance records. Ques. What would you do if you were in Rita's place? Who are the people involved in this case who would be affected by any decision or action taken? Word limit: 750 words.