Do Recruiters Need a Code of Ethics?

Steve Bates
Society for Human Resource Management
Originally posted January 9, 2019

Here is an excerpt:

Most recruiters behave ethically, knowing that their reputation and their company's brand are on the line, said Joe Shaker Jr., president of Oak Park, Ill.-based Shaker Recruitment Marketing. "They're selling the organization."

But for some external recruiters attempting to beat their competitors, "there's a tremendous temptation to be unethical," said Kevin Wheeler, founder and president of the Future of Talent Institute, a think tank in Fremont, Calif.

"You'll hear about the good, the bad and the ugly," said Wanda Parker, president of The HealthField Alliance, a physician recruiting and consulting firm in Danbury, Conn. She is also president of the National Association of Physician Recruiters (NAPR), which is based in Altamonte Springs, Fla. "There are some recruiters who cut all kinds of corners and will do whatever they can to make a buck."

"It's very much like the Wild West," said Fred Coon, founder, chairman and CEO of Stewart, Cooper & Coon, a human capital strategies firm based in Phoenix. "It's a free-for-all."

The info is here.

Errors in the 2017 APA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD: What the Data Actually Says

Dominguez, S. and Lee, C.
Front. Psychol., 22 August 2017

Abstract

The American Psychological Association (APA) Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) concluded that there was strong evidence for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), cognitive therapy (CT), and exposure therapy yet weak evidence for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). This is despite the findings from an associated systematic review which concluded that EMDR leads to loss of PTSD diagnosis and symptom reduction. Depression symptoms were also found to improve more with EMDR than control conditions. In that review, EMDR was marked down on strength of evidence (SOE) for symptom reduction for PTSD. However, there were several problems with the conclusions of that review. Firstly, in assessing the evidence in one of the studies, the reviewers chose an incorrect measure that skewed the data. We recalculated a meta-analysis with a more appropriate measure and found the SOE improved. The resulting effect size for EMDR on PTSD symptom reduction compared to a control condition was large for studies that meet the APA inclusion criteria (SMD = 1.28) and the heterogeneity was low (I2 = 43%). Secondly, even if the original measure was chosen, we highlight inconsistencies with the way SOE was assessed for EMDR, CT, and CPT. Thirdly, we highlight two papers that were omitted from the analysis. One of these was omitted without any apparent reason. It found EMDR superior to a placebo control. The other study was published in 2015 and should have been part of APA guidelines since they were published in 2017. The inclusion of either study would have resulted in an improvement in SOE. Including both studies results in standard mean difference and confidence intervals that were better for EMDR than for CPT or CT. Therefore, the SOE should have been rated as moderate and EMDR assessed as at least equivalent to these CBT approaches in the APA guidelines. This would bring the APA guidelines in line with other recent practice guidelines from other countries. Less critical but also important, were several inaccuracies in assessing the risk of bias and the failure to consider studies supporting strong gains of EMDR at follow-up.

The article is here.

Make business ethics a cumulative science

Jonathan Haidt & Linda Trevino
Nature - Human Behavior


Business ethics research is not currently a cumulative science, but it must become one. The benefits to humanity from research that helps firms improve their ethics could be enormous, especially if that research also shows that strong ethics improves the effectiveness of companies.

Imagine a world in which medical researchers did experiments on rats, but never on people. Furthermore, suppose that doctors ignored the rat literature entirely. Instead, they talked to each other and swapped tips, based on their own clinical experience. In such a world medicine would not be the cumulative science that we know today.

That fanciful clinical world is the world of business ethics research. University researchers do experiments, mostly on students who come into the lab for pay or course credit. Experiments are run carefully, social and cognitive processes are elucidated, and articles get published in academic journals. But business leaders do not read these journals, and rarely even read about the studies second-hand. Instead, when they think and talk about ethics, they rely on their own experience, and the experience of their friends. CEOs share their insights on ethical leadership. Ethics and compliance officers meet at conferences to swap ‘best practices’ that haven't been research-tested. There are fads, but there is no clear progress.

The article is here.

Emerging Ethical Threats to Client Privacy in Cloud Communication and Data Storage.

By Samuel D. Lustgarten
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Apr 27 , 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pro0000018

Abstract

In June 2013, Edward Snowden released top-secret intelligence documents that detailed a domestic U.S. spying apparatus. This article reviews and contends that current APA ethics and record-keeping guidelines, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act do not adequately account for this new information and other emerging threats to client confidentiality. As psychologists bear the responsibility for being informed, protecting and maintaining client records, and preventing breaches, it is vital that the field establish specific best practices and present regular security updates to colleagues.

Here is an excerpt:

Unfortunately, on top of data-mining practices, most cloud storage and communication providers do not provide adequate information about data-retention policies. Google's Drive cloud storage service for personal users (not Google Apps) offers no specific data-retention policy (Google, 2014c). This amorphous data-retention policy stands in contrast to APA's (2007) record-keeping guidelines, which suggest that client records and data may be destroyed after 7 years in the absence of superseding legal requirements. It also calls into question a practitioner's ability to maintain and provide confidentiality and proper informed consent when using certain corporate providers. Moreover, it is questionable whether practitioners could ever believe that records had been deleted if the cloud provider did not clearly and publicly state its data-retention standards.

The entire article is here.

Why Many Doctors Don't Follow 'Best Practices'

By Anders Kelto
NPR News - All Things Considered
Originally published April 22, 2015

Here is an excerpt:

Imagine, for example, that a healthy, 40-year-old woman walks into your office and asks about a mammogram.

"If that woman were to develop breast cancer or to have breast cancer, you can imagine what might happen to you if you didn't order the test," Wu says. "Maybe you'd get sued."

Doctors often hear stories like this, he says, and that can affect their judgment.

"Emotion and recent events do influence our decision-making," he says. "We are not absolutely rational, decision-making machines."

The entire article is here.

Deceased clients and their wills

When a treating psychologist receives a bequest, what ethical considerations come into play?

By Stephen Behnke, JD, PhD, MDiv
The Monitor on Psychology
May 2015, Vol 46, No. 5
Print version: page 72

Here is an excerpt:

Most risk managers — people who work for insurance carriers, for example, whose primary goal is to lower a psychologist's exposure to risk — will advise the psychologist to decline the property. This advice makes good sense. The situation invites a claim that the psychologist exercised undue influence over the client, which is a relevant legal standard for overturning the bequest. The likelihood that a claim of undue influence will be made against the psychologist rises exponentially if the client had heirs, or potential beneficiaries of the estate who are found. If a complaint is made to an ethics committee or licensing board, the psychologist will bear the burden of demonstrating that there has been no exploitation:

The entire article is here.

Online Ethics for Professionals

By The Social Network Show
Originally published March 16, 2015

Part of the Show Recap

The Social Network Show welcomes Dr. John Gavazzi to the March 16, 2015 episode.

If you are a healthcare professional or a professional in any other field, one thing you have to pay attention to is your online reputation. Something to remember, there is no difference in your professional and your personal online presence and patients, clients and customers can find you.

Dr. Gavazzi, a clinical psychologist and named Ethics Educator of the Year by the Pennsylvania Psychological Association in 2013, talks about the issues to consider when building an online presence. In this episode you will hear about what ethical issues to consider; the importance of setting boundaries; what is included in informed consent; the limitations of technology; what constitutes a violation of privacy; and what are the advantages of being online for professionals.

(I was also named Ethics Educator of the Year by the American Psychological Association in 2014.)

The podcast is here.

Episode 15: Ethics and Telepsychology (Part 1)

Ethics and Telepsychology involves the rise of technology in the healthcare sector.  There are about 21 states that mandate insurance companies cover telehealth services.  John is joined by Dr. Marlene Maheu, trainer, author, researcher, and the Executive Director of the TeleMental Health Institute, Inc., where she has overseen the delivery of professional training in telemental health to more than 5000 professionals in 39 countries since 2010.  John and Marlene discuss the supporting research for telepsychology and its limitations; practitioner competencies; reimbursable, evidence-based models for telepsychology; and limitations with telepsychology.

At the end of this podcast, the listener will be able to:

1. Outline the general research findings on the usefulness of telepsychology,
2. Describe requirements of competent telepsychology practice,
3. List at least four reimbursable, evidence-based models for legal and ethical telepractice.

Click here to earn one APA-approved CE credit

Find this podcast on iTunes

Or listen directly below

Resources for Episode 15

TeleMental Health Institute, Inc.

American Psychological Association Guidelines on Telepsychology

The Mental Health Professional and the New Technologies: A Handbook for Practice Today

by Marlene Maheu, Myron L. Pulier, Frank H. Wilhelm and Joseph P. McMenamin 

Bibliography from TeleMental Health Institute, Inc.

Marlene Maheu SlideShare

Gros, D. F., Yoder, M., Tuerk, P. W., Lozano, B. E., & Acierno, R. (2011). Exposure therapy for PTSD delivered to veterans via telehealth: Predictors of treatment completion and outcome and comparison to treatment delivered in person. Behavior Therapy, 42, 276-283. 
doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2010.07.005

Harris, E., & Younggren, J. N. (2011). Risk management in the digital world.

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 42, 412-418.
doi: 10.1037/a0025139

Best practices for remote psychological assessment via telehealth technologies

By David Luxton, Larry Pruitt, and Janyce Osenbach
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol 45(1), Feb 2014, 27-35.
doi: 10.1037/a0034547
Special Section: Telepractice

Abstract

The use and capabilities of telehealth technologies to conduct psychological assessments remotely are expanding. Clinical practitioners and researchers need to be aware of what influences the psychometric properties of telehealth-based assessments to assure optimal and competent assessments. The purpose of this review is to discuss the specific factors that influence the validity and reliability of remote psychological assessments and to provide best practices recommendations. Specific factors discussed include the lack of physical presence, technological issues, patient and provider acceptance of and comfort with technology, and procedural issues. Psychometric data regarding telehealth-based psychological assessment and limitations to these data, as well as cultural, ethical, and safety considerations are discussed. The information presented is applicable to all mental health professionals who conduct psychological assessment with telehealth technologies.

The entire article is here, behind a paywall.

Why Groupon and other social coupons are unethical in healthcare

By Deniza Gertzberg
www.kevinmd.com
Originally published on May 16, 2013

In addition to the possible legal pitfalls of advertising on Groupon-type websites, there are also ethical and practice management concerns to be weighed by healthcare practitioners before agreeing to such arrangements. Even with the recent announcement that companies such as Groupon and LivingSocial may be offering contracts to healthcare providers that take into consideration the prohibition against fee splitting, practitioners should nonetheless proceed with caution.

The concerns about social coupons in the healthcare context extend further than what is strictly legal as doctors also face the more basic question of whether such advertising practices are appropriate. It is not surprising that we find an increasing number of professional organizations speaking out about the ethical implications of providing social discounts to consumers. Several past presidents of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, for example, in 2011 spoke out strongly against the practice of advertising discounts for plastic surgeries online.

Similarly, in the United States, we are seeing professional societies discussing the legality and ethical implications of such arrangements. The American Dental Association (ADA) last year, for example, issued an advisory opinion prohibiting the use of social coupons if such an arrangement would constitute fee splitting.

The entire blog post is here.

Thanks to Ed Zuckerman for this lead.

CDC Social Media Tools, Guidelines & Best Practices

"The use of social media tools is a powerful channel to reach target audiences with strategic, effective and user-centric health interventions. To assist in the planning, development and implementation of social media activities, the following guidelines have been developed to provide critical information on lessons learned, best practices, clearance information and security requirements. Although these guidelines have been developed for the use of these channels at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they may be useful materials for other federal, state and local agencies as well as private organizations to reference when developing social media tools."

The site can be found here.

The site includes a Social Media Toolkit, a Guide to Writing for Social Media, and Twitter Guidelines and Best Practices, to name a few.

Thanks to Pauline Wallin for this information.

Another link to these resources can be found on our Resources, Guides, and Guidelines page.

Doctor, (don't) heal thyself: Self-prescribing declines

Reuters
Originally published February 29, 2012

Far fewer doctors-in-training are prescribing themselves medication than in the past, suggests a new study.

Less than one percent of residents surveyed said they wrote themselves a prescription for an allergy medication, antidepressant or another drug over the course of a year.

In a similar study from more than a decade ago, over half of all medical trainees reported self-prescribing, which many consider ethically questionable.

"I would say it looks like, taking (the findings) at face value, that young residents and physicians-in-training are following recommendations about ethical considerations about treating themselves, and that seems like a good thing," said Dr. Ajit Limaye, from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Still, Limaye -- who has studied physician self-prescribing but wasn't involved in the new study -- cautioned against drawing too much confidence from its results.

"The practice, anecdotally from my experience, is very common," he told Reuters Health.

While it's not illegal for doctors to self-prescribe most types of medication (with the exception of controlled substances), researchers as well as the American Medical Association generally consider it a bad idea.

For one, doctors aren't the most objective prescribers when they're treating themselves. Another concern is that residents and other doctors may self-prescribe using free samples from pharmaceutical companies, which could bias the drugs they recommend to patients in the future.

The entire story is here.

Many on Medical Guideline Panels Have Conflicts of Interest

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

More than half of panel members who gather to write clinical practice guidelines on diabetes and high cholesterol have conflicts of interest, new research suggests.

"The concern is that compensation by industry on some of these panels can pose a potential risk of industry influence on the guideline recommendations," said Dr. Jennifer Neuman, lead author of a paper published online Oct. 11 in the BMJ.

Clinical practice guidelines are meant to direct health care professionals on how to best care for patients.

In the United States and Canada, most organizations (including nonprofit and governmental bodies) have their own protocol for divulging conflicts of interest.

And recently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published recommendations on how organizations should manage conflicts of interest when drawing up guidelines. Among other things, the institute advocated excluding individuals with financial ties to the drug industry.

The rest of the story can be read here.