The medical services sector increasingly relies on computers and data management to function. As costs increase, healthcare providers are looking for ways to more efficiently handle all of the information that a medical practice needs to provide patients with effective care. At the same time, patient privacy is a significant concern, even as the online connections between health care providers on the one hand and insurers, pharmacies, third-party providers, and patients on the other hand continue to grow.
If you're a student majoring in health information management, you know that in addition to your technical courses focusing on your major, a significant part of your education is likely to happen in a workplace setting during one or more internships. In most cases these are in real-world employer settings, where you'll be treated as a professional and will be expected to act in a professional manner.
That's why if you are accused of misconduct during your internship, it can significantly delay or derail your goals of earning a Health Information Management degree and of working in that field after you graduate. You need to take misconduct allegations seriously, and having the help of an experienced student defense attorney from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can make all the difference between an allegation that significantly hurts your career plans and one that doesn't.
What Kinds of Discipline Can Health Information Management Interns Encounter?
Because your internship is so closely connected with your studies, you are at risk of multiple types of discipline if a workplace misconduct claim is filed against you.
- Workplace discipline. Every workplace that handles medical data is sure to have an employee manual that describes the behavior that is expected of employees and the kinds of things that are prohibited. Particularly where sensitive patient information is collected, organized, analyzed, or forwarded to others as part of the practice, you will be expected to understand and follow the company's guidelines focusing on maintaining the privacy and security of that information. In addition, you'll also be expected to follow normal workplace guidelines in terms of your interactions with fellow employees.
This is why it's important to actually read and understand the employee handbook for your workplace. Your internship employer may have a procedure it follows when misconduct claims are made against an employee, and as an intern, those may or may not apply to you. The worst-case situation is that you are simply dismissed if a misconduct claim is made against you, but in other cases, there may be an investigation, and you may have a chance to defend yourself. In either case, the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help make sure your rights are respected if a misconduct claim is filed against you and may be able to help you even if you've been dismissed from your internship with little notice.
- School discipline. Because your internship is, in most cases, part of your degree curriculum, workplace misconduct may be reported to your school, and you may be disciplined according to your school's student handbook or code of ethics. This can result in double discipline – your workplace may discipline, and your school may do so as well. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has helped students all over the country defend themselves against misconduct allegations brought in connection with their education, and our experienced attorneys are ready to help you avoid some of the serious consequences that can result. These can include anything from a permanent notation in your student record to probation, suspension, or expulsion.
- Membership Organization discipline. If you are a student member of a Health Information Management advocacy and education organization such as the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), you are expected to follow the AHIMA Code of Ethics. If a misconduct claim is made to AHIMA, you could be subject to AHIMA's disciplinary procedures. Your membership could be terminated, and you may not be able to rejoin the organization if you do graduate. Here, too, the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you defend yourself. Many of our attorneys also represent professionals who find themselves being disciplined by their membership organization, and that experience can help you in this kind of situation.
What Kinds of Conduct Can Result in Discipline?
Because you are most likely interning in an actual workplace, you will be expected to act in a professional manner. Types of conduct that can result in discipline include the following:
- Failure to follow procedures. This is particularly important in the Health Information Management setting because, in many cases, if you don't follow company procedures relating to the information you're working with, it can result in substantial civil and possibly criminal liability to the company.
- Sexual harassment or abuse. This can range from making inappropriate comments about a co-worker to non-consensual physical contact to having an intimate relationship with a co-worker. There is most likely an employee manual that spells out the kinds of behavior that are not acceptable in the workplace, and it's important that you read and understand it.
- Working while impaired. If you work while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or prescription or non-prescription drugs, you may be disciplined. You may be responsible for critical aspects of your company's information management during your internship and are expected to be at your best every day.
- Fraud. If you fabricate information or mishandle it in a way that defrauds a patient, insurance company, third-party provider, or your employer, you could face misconduct charges. Of course, sometimes people make mistakes, and it's important for you to be able to protect your rights in cases where your honest mistake is claimed to be intentional fraud.
How are Misconduct Allegations Resolved?
Your workplace may have a detailed explanation of how it resolves allegations of workplace misconduct, but this can vary greatly depending on where your internship is. Schools and professional organizations also have their procedures, which may include the following steps:
- Investigation of the claim. If the misconduct claim relates to the kind of behavior that the school or organization regulates, it will be investigated in some detail. How much detail depends on the organization. In many cases, we find these kinds of investigations to be lacking, which is why our attorneys will often conduct a separate investigation into misconduct charges. In many cases, we are able to uncover helpful information that the disciplining organization's investigators failed to.
- Formal charges. If the investigator finds enough information to support misconduct claims, formal charges may be brought against you. These will describe the facts that support the charges and will also describe exactly what you're being charged with. If the misconduct claim isn't supported, of course, the organization may close the matter, and that will be the end of it.
- An opportunity to settle. Very often, you may be presented with a chance to resolve the misconduct dispute without a hearing. You'll be presented with facts that the organization wants you to agree to and a penalty of some sort that you will be expected to accept. While this may seem to be a convenient way to quickly end the matter, whether or not it makes sense to accept this kind of offer depends entirely on the facts of your particular case. Our experienced student defense attorneys can help you review these kinds of offers and, in some cases, may be able to negotiate a better offer or – where appropriate – may advise you to decline the offer and take the matter to a hearing.
- Hearing on the merits. This will resemble a court proceeding with witnesses, documentary evidence, cross-examination, oral arguments, and, in some cases, written briefs. Depending on the organization, however, evidentiary standards may be lower so that evidence that might not be accepted in a regular court may still be considered by the hearing judge or panel. This is where you really need an experienced attorney, one who has defended other students in similar proceedings and who can challenge faulty evidence while making sure your rights are respected. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team includes lawyers with years of experience helping students like you in hearings like these, and we are ready to help you defend yourself.
- A decision. After the hearing, a decision will be issued by the hearing judge or panel. If it's in your favor, the matter will end there. If it's against you, you will be disciplined in some way but will have an opportunity to appeal. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has helped students appeal adverse disciplinary decisions, and our experienced attorneys can help you review your situation and decide whether an appeal makes sense.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
The attorneys that make up the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team understand how important your future is to you. We have helped students all over the US with disciplinary matters arising out of their schools and internships, and we are ready to help you, too. We can investigate the claims brought against you to find helpful evidence in your favor, negotiate with whoever is trying to discipline you to arrive at an acceptable settlement, represent you vigorously in any hearing or appeal, and most importantly, take much of the day-to-day burden off of your shoulders so that you can focus on your education and your future.
If you've been accused of misconduct in connection with your Health Information Management internship, don't delay – call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our convenient online contact form to set up a confidential consultation. We understand how upsetting these situations can be, and we're here to listen and to help!
