Exclusively for ACCM Members
BOX 1
CDMS
CODES OF ETHICS The fundamental spirit of caring and respect with which the Code is written is based upon five principles of ethical behavior. These include autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and fidelity, as defined below: • Autonomy: To honor the right to make individual decisions. •B eneficence: To do good to others. Nonmaleficence: To do no harm to others. • Justice: To act or treat justly or fairly. • Fidelity: To adhere to fact or detail. See the entire CDMS Code of Professional Conduct
NASW
The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values, embraced by social workers throughout the profession’s history, are the foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective: • Service • Social justice • Dignity and worth of the person
component to health literacy in that patients must be able to comprehend matters like calculating cholesterol and blood sugar levels, medication measurements, nutrition labels, premiums, copays and deductibles. Finally, health literacy also encompasses a patient’s knowledge of various health topics (eg, heart health, nutrition, causes of certain common chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes, the effect of one’s lifestyle on health, etc). Without a basic health literacy foundation, a patient’s health can be placed in grave jeopardy. The problem of health literacy is not a simple one, however, as there are many factors which contribute to its prevalence.
• Importance of human relationships • Integrity • Competence See the entire NASW Code of Ethics
CCMC
Principles
•B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will place the public interest above their own at all times. •B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will respect the rights and inherent dignity of all of their clients. •B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will always maintain objectivity in their relationships with clients. •B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will act with integrity and fidelity with clients and others. •B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will maintain their competency at a level that ensures their clients will receive the highest quality of service. •B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will honor the integrity of the CCM designation and adhere to the requirements for its use. •B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will obey all laws and regulations. •B oard-Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will help maintain the integrity of the Code, by responding to requests for public comments to review and revise the code, thus helping ensure its consistency with current practice. •B ecause case management exists in an environment that may look to it to solve or resolve various problems in the health care delivery and payor systems, case managers may often confront ethical dilemmas. Case managers must abide by the Code as well as by the professional code of ethics for their specific professional discipline for guidance and support in the resolution of these conflicts. See the entire CCMC Code of Professional Conduct
Factors Driving Health Literacy Problems Health literacy problems stem from many factors. Our nation’s high school dropout rate is 30%, according to data from the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center’s Cities in Crisis report. Given the complexities involved in health care, from medical terminology to rapidly changing technologies and convoluted health insurance plans, it is not difficult to understand why individuals without a basic high school education would have health literacy problems. Then there is our nation’s increasing multiculturalism, which increases language and cultural challenges that interfere with health literacy. The NAAL’s study bears evidence to this. When looking at health literacy among whites and Hispanics, the proportion of adults who had “basic” or “below basic” health literacy skills was 28% of white adults vs 65% of Hispanic adults. Age is also a factor with those over 65 years of age having poorer health literacy than those under 65. That said, the iTriage study found that more than one-third of December 2016/January 2017 CareManagement 15