Fiduciary duty is the responsibility to act in the best interest of a person or organization. Health care professionals, as well as managers in other industries, struggle continuously with the dilemma of whether or not to admit potentially harmful mistakes to unsuspecting customers and patients.
Full Answer
(2 paragraphs including in-text citations and references in proper APA format) Fiduciary means an ethical and legal concept that exists whenever one side exhibits an influence on the other party (Darr, 2011). The primary goal of health care executives and managers is avoiding the use of their position power to gain financially, and to act in the best interest of the patients, and the local community in which they serve. It is against fiduciary responsibilities for an executive to accept any form of bribes or financial kickbacks for supporting projects and vendors over others (Darr, 2011). The duty of responsibility requires all members to show reasonable skill and care for the
The duty of responsibility requires all members to show reasonable skill and care for the. people they serve, both patient and employees. Governing members are expected to report any ethical breaches or errors of commissions (Darr, 2011).
It encompasses a commitment to increasing access to needed care, improving community health status and addressing the societal issues that contribute to poor health and health disparities as well as personally working for the betterment of the community at large. Taking a leadership role in serving the community is the responsibility of all healthcare executives regardless of occupational setting or ownership structure. When providers, individuals and communities work toward common goals, the results can be significant: healthier children, healthier adults, reduced healthcare costs, appropriate use of limited healthcare resources and, ultimately, a healthier community.
Approved by the Board of Governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives on November 14, 2016.
Policy Position. The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) believes all healthcare executives have a professional obligation to serve their communities through support of organizational initiatives and personal involvement in community and civic affairs.
When providers, individuals and communities work toward common goals, the results can be significant: healthier children, healthier adults, reduced healthcare costs, appropriate use of limited healthcare resources and, ultimately, a healthier community.
ACHE members should model behavior they are advocating for their employees and the community at large. Appropriate behavior may include exercising regularly, refraining from smoking, adopting a healthy diet, taking steps to reduce stress and getting preventive checkups to address health problems before they become serious.
Ensuring clarity in job descriptions and responsibilities; defining financial and accounting procedures (signing checks, handling of cash, approving expenses, outlining parameters for credit card usage); managing potential conflicts of interest with a clear policy; and requesting regular external audits are all manifestations of fiduciary responsibility.
Fiduciary duty requires board members to stay objective, unselfish, responsible, honest, trustworthy, and efficient. Board members, as stewards of public trust, must always act for the good of the organization, rather than for the benefit of themselves. They need to exercise reasonable care in all decision making, without placing the organization under unnecessary risk.
Board members, as stewards of public trust, must always act for the good of the organization, rather than for the benefit of themselves . They need to exercise reasonable care in all decision making, without placing the organization under unnecessary risk.
One of the main responsibilities of board members is to maintain financial accountability of their organization. Board members act as trustees of the organization’s assets and must exercise due diligence and oversight to ensure that the organization is well-managed and that its financial situation remains sound.
Not every board member can be a financial wizard. Every board member, however, needs to be a financial inquisitor. It is essential to understand basic terminology, be able to read financial statements and judge their soundness, and have the capacity to recognize warning signs that might indicate a change in the overall health of the organization. If a board member does not understand something, he or she must be willing to find out the answer.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ethics as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” and “the principles of conduct governing an individual or group.”.
In its simplest form, a fiduciary relationship generally involves one person acting for the benefit of another person or entity. In a manager’s role as the fiduciary, we are tasked to act in good faith to protect the members of our associations and act in a way that is believed to be in their best interest.
While we all have at least one instance where we wanted to divulge everything, we know to clear up some misconception or fight back against some falsehood, ethics requires us to take the high road and hold this information in confidence. Ethics also obligates us to be truthful in our statements to others.
Managers control the member’s unit or lot files and books and records of the association, prepare bids for vendor contracts, address resident disputes, work with counsel in times of litigation and collection of delinquent accounts, prepare board reports and executive session materials, access member’s homes for insurance claim administration and resale inspections, and so on . While we all have at least one instance where we wanted to divulge everything, we know to clear up some misconception or fight back against some falsehood, ethics requires us to take the high road and hold this information in confidence. Ethics also obligates us to be truthful in our statements to others. This means we bid out contracts in a fair and equitable manner, provide our boards and committees with all the facts and information available to us, and we do not make misrepresentations to our members.
However, ethics also plays a major role for managers because managers are privy to a lot of information. We truly are the eyes and ears of the associations we manage.
While fiduciary duties and ethics are not an exciting topic, they truly are a necessary and integral part of a manager’s successful career and valuable tools that can be applied in everyday life.
Fiduciary duty is the responsibility to act in the best interest of a person or organization. Health care professionals, as well as managers in other industries, struggle continuously with the dilemma of whether or not to admit potentially harmful mistakes to unsuspecting customers and patients.
Limited public disclosure of medical errors will benefit health care staff, organizational executives, and patients if specific policies are enacted to improve error prevention.