Professional Integrity and Honesty for Licensed Health Professionals

What you will learn

• Define professional integrity and identify where honesty is tested in records, billing, applications, attestations, credentials, industry relationships, research and communication.
• Explain how state practice acts, board rules and professional codes of ethics treat dishonesty, using examples from named states.
• Distinguish honest error, carelessness, recklessness and deliberate dishonesty, and explain why concealment escalates a concern.
• Make accurate, authenticated record entries and correctly labeled late entries, addenda and corrections, and respond appropriately when records are requested.
• Answer licensure applications, renewals, CE and DEA attestations truthfully, and describe NPDB reporting and state self-reporting duties.
• Apply the False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute, Physician Self-Referral Law, Civil Monetary Penalties Law and exclusion rules to everyday billing and referral decisions, including upcoding, unbundling and overpayments.
• Recognize, disclose and manage conflicts of interest, and use Open Payments to review industry payments.
• Apply the federal definitions of research misconduct and standards for authorship, exam and CE integrity.
• Communicate honestly with patients, colleagues and state boards, including disclosure of errors and candor in investigations.
• Describe how boards respond to dishonesty and plan credible, verifiable remediation.

Course facts

CPD value

Approximately 3 CPD hours (estimated learning time including reading, knowledge checks, apply-it activities, reflection and assessment)

Audience

U.S. licensed health professionals: physicians (MD/DO), nurses (RN, LPN/LVN, APRN), PAs, pharmacists, dentists and other licensees, including those responding to a board complaint, payer audit or employer review

Standards covered

State practice acts and board rules (examples: NY Education Law §§6509–6511 and Regents Rules Part 29; Fla. Stat. §§456.072, 395.1051, 90.4026; PA MCARE Act and Board of Medicine reporting); False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§3729–3733); Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7b(b)); Physician Self-Referral Law (42 U.S.C. §1395nn); Civil Monetary Penalties Law (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7a); exclusion (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7); Medicare overpayment rule; Open Payments; NPDB (45 CFR Part 60); 42 CFR 482.24; ORI research misconduct definitions (42 CFR Part 93); AMA, ANA, APhA, ADA and AAPA codes of ethics

Format

Self-paced, gated lessons with knowledge checks, case studies and reflection

Assessment

20 scenario-based questions, 80% to pass (16 of 20)

Outcome

Certificate of completion and a written reflection for your CPD record

Alignment

Mapped to state board unprofessional conduct standards, HHS-OIG fraud and abuse guidance and the honesty provisions of the AMA, ANA, APhA, ADA and AAPA codes; independent, not board-approved and not endorsed by any of them

Syllabus

11 sections, 3 CPD hours, 20-question final assessment

1. 1Professional integrity in U.S. health care3 lessons

   • What professional integrity and honesty mean for a licensee
   • The legal and ethical framework: practice acts, boards and professional codes
   • Honest error, carelessness, recklessness and dishonesty
2. 2Honesty in records and documentation2 lessons

   • Accurate, timely and authentic records
   • Altered records, investigations and the audit trail
3. 3Licensure applications, renewals and disclosure duties3 lessons

   • Truthful applications, renewals and attestations
   • The NPDB, self-reporting and why the past follows you
   • Credentials, titles and how you describe yourself
4. 4Billing integrity and federal fraud and abuse law3 lessons

   • Honest claims: the False Claims Act, upcoding and unbundling
   • Kickbacks, self-referral and the Civil Monetary Penalties Law
   • Exclusion, overpayments and compliance programs
5. 5Conflicts of interest and industry relationships2 lessons

   • Open Payments and transparency about industry payments
   • Recognizing and managing conflicts of interest
6. 6Research, scholarship and academic integrity2 lessons

   • Research misconduct: fabrication, falsification and plagiarism
   • Authorship, presentations, examinations and continuing education
7. 7Honesty with patients, colleagues and boards3 lessons

   • Honesty with patients
   • Honesty with colleagues, employers and payers
   • Honesty with your state board
8. 8How boards respond to dishonesty and how to rebuild trust2 lessons

   • The disciplinary process and outcomes for dishonesty
   • Acceptance of responsibility, remediation and rebuilding trust
9. 9Conclusion and key points1 lesson

   • Conclusion and key points
10. 10References and further reading1 lesson

    • References and further reading
11. 11Your reflective account1 lesson

    • Your reflective account

Who this course is for

U.S. licensed health professionals: physicians (MD/DO), nurses (RN, LPN/LVN, APRN), PAs, pharmacists, dentists and other licensees, including those responding to a board complaint, payer audit or employer review.