Code of Ethics

Preamble

The Code of Professional Ethics and Conduct has been developed to provide members of the Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development with guidelines of professional conduct and standards of ethical practice. While there are more than a dozen different professional disciplines represented by the membership of this society, at the heart of each is a responsibility to serve the public trust and ensure the protection of free speech.

Because of the nature of health care and the degree of intimacy and trust involved, Society members must serve more than themselves and their employers, but also providers, the community, payers, the media and others with ethical and professional conduct.

As Society members, our intent is to conduct our professional affairs with truth, accuracy, integrity, fairness, respect and good faith and with accountability to and respect for all the publics we serve. We aspire to fulfill these ideals by recommending the following standards of professional conduct:

The Code

Practitioners of the disciplines represented by the Society shall:

1. Respect the rights, including those of privacy and confidentiality, of patients and others served by the profession.
2. Conduct his/her professional life in accordance with the public’s best interests and deal in a fair and honest manner with the public, present and past employers and clients, employees and fellow practitioners.
3. Comply with the laws that govern the conduct of his/her profession or of his/her employer and make every reasonable effort to become knowledgeable of these laws and regulations and changes to them over time.
4. Adhere to the highest standards of truth and accuracy. The professional shall never intentionally use false or misleading information. Inaccurate information inadvertently disseminated shall be corrected immediately. The professional shall never knowingly plagiarize the work of another individual or entity and shall give credit for ideas and words borrowed from others. The professional shall respect the copyright of others.
5. Respect the vulnerability of those who seek health care services and never seek to sell services or influence consumer behavior through intimidation or fear, or through the promise of unrealistic results.
6. Not represent conflicting or competing interests without the knowledge and consent of those he or she represents and  not profess to be unbiased and independent while serving an undisclosed cause.
7. Be able and willing to identify his/her employer or client and willing to disclose to the employer or client all material facts surrounding the relationship, including the receipt of fees, commissions, other considerations or any other material interest, financial or otherwise.
8. Not guarantee the achievement of results beyond his or her direct control.
9. Scrupulously safeguard the confidences and privileged information entrusted to him/her in the course of performing his/her duties.
10. Not engage in any practice that has the purpose of corrupting the integrity of channels of communication or the process of government.
11. Sever relations with any organization or individual requiring conduct contrary to the articles in this Code.
12. Respect the ethics and standards of those from other professions with whom he or she works and, to the extent it does not conflict with the Society’s professional ethics and conduct, endeavor to enable others to fulfill their own ethical and professional obligations. The professional shall use the same professional behavior outlined in these guidelines when serving as counsel to others.
13. Be vigilant in upholding the spirit and letter of this Code of Professional Ethics and Conduct and encourage all others within the profession to do the same.

Adopted by the SHSMD Board of Directors May 2013.