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PREAMBLE
The American Occupational Therapy Association's Code of Ethics is a
public statement of the common set of values and principles used to
promote and maintain high standards of behavior in occupational
therapy. The American Occupational Therapy Association and its members
are committed to furthering the ability of individuals, groups, and
systems to function within their total environment. To this end,
occupational therapy personnel (including all staff and personnel who
work and assist in providing occupational therapy services, (e.g.,
aides, orderlies, secretaries, technicians) have a responsibility to
provide services to recipients in any stage of health and illness who
are individuals, research participants, institutions and businesses,
other professionals and colleagues, students, and to the general
public.
The Occupational Therapy
Code of Ethics is a set of principles that applies to occupational
therapy personnel at all levels. These principles to which
occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants aspire are
part of a lifelong effort to act in an ethical manner. The various
roles of practitioner (occupational therapist and occupational therapy
assistant), educator, fieldwork educator, clinical supervisor,
manager, administrator, consultant, fieldwork coordinator, faculty
program director, researcher/scholar, private practice owner,
entrepreneur, and student are assumed.
Any action in violation of
the spirit and purpose of this Code shall be considered unethical. To
ensure compliance with the Code, the Commission on Standards and
Ethics (SEC) establishes and maintains the enforcement procedures.
Acceptance of membership in the American Occupational Therapy
Association commits members to adherence to the Code of Ethics and its
enforcement procedures. The Code of Ethics, Core Values and Attitudes
of Occupational Therapy Practice (AOTA, 1993), and the Guidelines to
the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (AOTA, 1998) are aspirational
documents designed to be used together to guide occupational therapy
personnel.
Principle 1.
Occupational therapy personnel shall demonstrate a concern for the
well-being of the recipients of their services. (beneficence)
A. Occupational therapy
personnel shall provide services in a fair and equitable manner.
They shall recognize and appreciate the cultural components of
economics, geography, race, ethnicity, religious and political
factors, marital status, sexual orientation, and disability of all
recipients of their services.
B. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall strive to ensure that fees are fair and
reasonable and commensurate with services performed. When
occupational therapy practitioners set fees, they shall set fees
considering institutional, local, state, and federal requirements,
and with due regard for the service recipient's ability to pay.
C. Occupational therapy
personnel shall make every effort to advocate for recipients to
obtain needed services through available means.
Principle 2.
Occupational therapy personnel shall take reasonable precautions to
avoid imposing or inflicting harm upon the recipient of services or to
his or her property. (nonmaleficence)
A. Occupational therapy
personnel shall maintain relationships that do not exploit the
recipient of services sexually, physically, emotionally,
financially, socially, or in any other manner.
B. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall avoid relationships or activities that interfere
with professional judgment and objectivity.
Principle 3.
Occupational therapy personnel shall respect the recipient and/or
their surrogate(s) as well as the recipient's rights. (autonomy,
privacy, confidentiality)
A. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall collaborate with service recipients or their
surrogate(s) in setting goals and priorities throughout the
intervention process.
B. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall fully inform the service recipients of the
nature, risks, and potential outcomes of any interventions.
C. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall obtain informed consent from participants
involved in research activities and indicate that they have fully
informed and advised the participants of potential risks and
outcomes. Occupational therapy practitioners shall endeavor to
ensure that the participant(s) comprehend these risks and outcomes.
D. Occupational therapy
personnel shall respect the individual's right to refuse
professional services or involvement in research or educational
activities.
E. Occupational therapy
personnel shall protect all privileged confidential forms of
written, verbal, and electronic communication gained from
educational, practice, research, and investigational activities
unless otherwise mandated by local, state, or federal regulations.
Principle 4.
Occupational therapy personnel shall achieve and continually maintain
high standards of competence. (duties)
A. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall hold the appropriate national and state
credentials for the services they provide.
B. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall use procedures that conform to the standards of
practice and other appropriate AOTA documents relevant to practice.
C. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall take responsibility for maintaining and
documenting competence by participating in professional development
and educational activities.
D. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall critically examine and keep current with
emerging knowledge relevant to their practice so they may perform
their duties on the basis of accurate information.
E. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall protect service recipients by ensuring that
duties assumed by or assigned to other occupational therapy
personnel match credentials, qualifications, experience, and scope
of practice.
F. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall provide appropriate supervision to individuals
for whom the practitioners have supervisory responsibility in
accordance with Association policies, local, state and federal
laws, and institutional values.
G. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall refer to or consult with other service providers
whenever such a referral or consultation would be helpful to the
care of the recipient of service. The referral or consultation
process should be done in collaboration with the recipient of
service.
Principle 5.
Occupational therapy personnel shall comply with laws and Association
policies guiding the profession of occupational therapy. (justice)
A. Occupational therapy
personnel shall familiarize themselves with and seek to understand
and abide by applicable Association policies; local, state, and
federal laws; and institutional rules.
B. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall remain abreast of revisions in those laws and
Association policies that apply to the profession of occupational
therapy and shall inform employers, employees, and colleagues of
those changes.
C. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall require those they supervise in occupational
therapy-related activities to adhere to the Code of Ethics.
D. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall take reasonable steps to ensure employers are
aware of occupational therapy's ethical obligations, as set forth in
this Code of Ethics, and of the implications of those obligations
for occupational therapy practice, education, and research.
E. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall record and report in an accurate and timely
manner all information related to professional activities.
Principle 6.
Occupational therapy personnel shall provide accurate information
about occupational therapy services. (veracity)
A. Occupational therapy
personnel shall accurately represent their credentials,
qualifications, education, experience, training, and competence.
This is of particular importance for those to whom occupational
therapy personnel provide their services or with whom occupational
therapy practitioners have a professional relationship.
B. Occupational therapy
personnel shall disclose any professional, personal, financial,
business, or volunteer affiliations that may pose a conflict of
interest to those with whom they may establish a professional,
contractual, or other working relationship.
C. Occupational therapy
personnel shall refrain from using or participating in the use
of any form of communication that contains false, fraudulent,
deceptive, or unfair statements or claims.
D. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall accept the responsibility for their professional
actions which reduce the public's trust in occupational therapy
services and those that perform those services.
Principle 7.
Occupational therapy personnel shall treat colleagues and other
professionals with fairness, discretion, and integrity. (fidelity)
A. Occupational therapy personnel shall preserve, respect, and
safeguard confidential information about colleagues and staff,
unless otherwise mandated by national, state, or local laws.
B. Occupational therapy
practitioners shall accurately represent the qualifications, views,
contributions, and findings of colleagues.
C. Occupational therapy
personnel shall take adequate measures to discourage, prevent,
expose, and correct any breaches of the Code of Ethics and report
any breaches of the Code of Ethics to the appropriate authority.
D. Occupational therapy
personnel shall familiarize themselves with established policies and
procedures for handling concerns about this Code of Ethics,
including familiarity with national, state, local, district,
and territorial procedures for handling ethics complaints. These
include policies and procedures created by the American Occupational
Therapy Association, licensing and regulatory bodies, employers,
agencies, certification boards, and other organizations who have
jurisdiction over occupational therapy practice.
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