Profits vs. Ethics: Don’t Go Down the Slippery Slope
Because doing the wrong thing is never the right move
Today, I want to talk to you about a critical and urgent issue in the world of personal injury — an issue that strikes at the heart of who you are as medical providers: the desire for profit and business success versus the ethics of doing it right. Doing the wrong thing is never the right way. So why do it wrong?
Because the temptations are real. The pressure is real. Pressure for the financial success of both the business and personally. You look around and see other providers inflating fees, upcoding treatments, stretching the time reported, or allowing attorneys to dictate care decisions that were never medically necessary. The kickbacks, including patient referrals, the gifts and extra vacations. That darker side of ethics can be quite tempting indeed. And you tell yourself: “If many attorneys want it and everyone else is doing it, why not me?”
That is the first step down a very dangerous, very slippery ethical slope.
The Ethical Breach
Let’s be clear: when you inflate fees, when you upcode, when you relate charges to services not actually provided or not medically necessary — you are not just bending the rules. You are breaking them. Worse yet, you are violating the sacred trust between you and your patient. The Hippocratic Oath “Though shall do no harm” you all pledged to uphold didn’t come with fine print that said, “unless it pays better.”
Allowing law firms to dictate medical care — recommending unnecessary treatments, ordering imaging that isn’t medically indicated, or referring patients to specialists just to inflate the case value — does more than just stain your reputation. It harms PI cases for the good attorneys seeking to do PI right, gets you flagged by insurer SIU (Special Investigation Units) divisions, and if complaints against your office are filed, board reviews and maybe even board audits can follow.
You end up crossing ethical lines into civil and maybe even criminal misconduct. What seemed innocent may be deemed medical billing fraud for the billing issues or even battery against the patient for unnecessary treatment and surgeries.
And here’s the chilling part: many of you feign ignorance of unethical practices and instead of being part of the solution you become part of the problem.
You’ve been misled by unethical players in the PI game, whether attorneys, patients, peers or middlemen. You’ve told yourself it’s “how business is done.” You’ve convinced yourself “no one will ever know.” But let me tell you — the truth always finds a way of surfacing. Auditors, investigators, regulatory boards — they’re paying more attention than ever before. And when the spotlight turns on you, it doesn’t just burn your pocketbook. It burns your license, your business, your career, your freedom, and worst of all, your integrity. Either you are part of the solution doing it right and ethically, or you are part of the problem going down the wrong side of the ethical slope.
The Real Cost
So, ask yourself: is it worth it?
Are the extra thousands worth the anxiety, sleepless nights, and personal integrity battle, wondering if your next patient might be an undercover investigator?
Is it worth having to explain to your children, your spouse, your colleagues, why you’ve been accused of wrongdoing or that your career is about to end in shame?
Is it worth losing your license over one more MRI, one more injection, one more improper billing entry, or one more procedure that your patient never actually needed?
Ethics aren’t situational. And integrity isn’t negotiable. Your calling as a healer demands more than simply “going along to get along.”
Choosing the Right Path
Doing the right thing is not always the easiest path, especially in this age of declining reimbursements, inflation, pressure on the entire medical industry, and the pressure of paying business and personal bills. Sometimes it means pushing back and saying “no” when others “suggest” additional care. Sometimes it means billing accurately even when you know you “could get away with” a little extra.
Sometimes it means standing alone. But you will stand tall.
Refuse to let any patient, any team member, any attorney, any middleman, any temptation, any personal problem cause you to do the wrong unethical thing. When you operate with unwavering integrity, you don’t just protect your career — you protect your soul.
You protect the very reason you became a medical professional in the first place: to help, to heal, to serve.
Final Thought
There are two sides to this ethical slope. One is steep, slick, and dangerous, and it leads to disaster — both personally and professionally. The other is firm, steady, and grounded in integrity, doing it right, and being trustworthy to everyone who comes in contact with you and your business. Only one leads to long term business and personal success.
Choose your path carefully.
Because when you stay on the right side of the ethical slope, you will sleep a heck of a lot better at night.
