Answer: The HFMA code of ethics prescribes the ethical conducts which the finance professionals in the health care industry should follow. To apply this code in practise it is important for any health care manager to first understand the components of this code and then apply them in practise. The main components of this code are
- Honesty and personal integrity
- High standards of personal conduct
- Objective and fair representation of the information
- Fostering excellence
- Maintaining confidentiality
- Promoting understanding
- Seeking a balance between costs and quality
All these components are essential for any health care manager as they all guide towards creating an ethical stance in the health care finance. These can be developed in the day to day process of financial management by practise. For this purpose the managers should go for the various certifications offered by HFMA like CRCR and so on. The managers can also attend to the online seminars organized by HFMA and apply that education in real life situations. I would like to add the environmental and social footprints in to this as sustainability in financial reporting cannot only be gained through financial aspects alone.