Ethical Issues in a Pediatric Private Practice

ABSTRACT

Building a successful pediatric private practice requires clinical expertise and an understanding of the business process, as well as familiarity with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Code of Ethics. This article provides an overview of the ethical issues that may be encountered when building a practice, including a look at marketing and advertising, financial management, privacy, and documentation. Ethically sound decision making is a key to a successful business.

KEYWORDS

Pediatric private practice - professional ethics - professional conduct

REFERENCES

• 1 Zingeser L. Trends in private practice among ASHA constituents, 1986 to 2003. The ASHA Leader; March 22, 2005
• 2 United States Department of Labor .Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational outlook handbook 2010–11 edition. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos099.htm Accessed February 23, 2011
• 3 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association .Code of Ethics [Ethics]. Available at: http://www.asha.org/docs/html/ET2010-00309.html Accessed February 24, 2011
• 4 Denton D R. Watch out for these ethical traps in private practice. The ASHA Leader; August 11, 2009
• 5 Golper L A, Brown J. Business Matters: A Guide for Speech-Language Pathologists. Rockville, MD: ASHA; 2004
• 6 Glaser R G, Traynor R M. Strategic Practice Management. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing; 2008
• 7 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association .Issues related to competition in professional practice. 2011. Available at: http://www.asha.org/docs/html/ET2011_00319.html Accessed October 17, 2011
• 8 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association .Scope of practice in speech-language pathology [Scope of Practice]. 2007. Available at: http://www.asha.org/docs/html/SP2007-00283.html Accessed April 23, 2011
• 9 Huffman N. Employers, employees and ethics. The ASHA Leader; October 7, 2003
• 10 Cornett B. Clinical documentation in speech-language pathology: essential information for successful practice. The ASHA Leader; September 5, 2006
• 11 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association .Representation of services for insurance reimbursement, funding, or private payment [Issues in Ethics]. 2010. Available at: http://www.asha.org/docs/html/ET2010-00314.html Accessed February 24, 2011