Reply prompt: Respond to threads posted by your classmates who analyzed a different area of practice than you did. Compare and contrast the legal and ethical issues of your area of practice with those explored by other students (I wrote on nursing and the law). Each reply must be supported by 4 scholarly sources, including the textbook chapter cited in current APA format . 450 words
QUESTION:
Chapters 10, 11, and 12 of the Pozgar text each address a different area of practice within the healthcare environment. Identify the chapter that most closely applies to your personal area of practice (current or aspirational), read that chapter, and be prepared to explore the legal and ethical issues in that practice area.
· Chapter 10: Medical staff organization and malpractice
· Chapter 11: Nursing and the law
· Chapter 12: Hospital departments and allied professionals
Prompt: Based on the chapter you selected, your personal experience, and a biblical worldview, write a Discussion Board Forum thread identifying and analyzing the legal and ethical issues specific to your area of practice.
ANSWER:
Medical staff organization and malpractice
Many aspects of a medical organization must flow in a consistent manner in order to make day-to-day operations successful. In my personal experience as a hospice house coordinator for the past 3 years, it is easy to identify an area with problems, whether this is administrative or clinical. A healthcare organization’s bylaws set forth, among other things, the responsibilities of the medical staff (Pozgar, 2019). When the responsibilities are not enforced, problems such as malpractice can have a dramatic effect on the healthcare organization. Without committees formed and working to ensure different parts of the organization, i.e. clinical, administrative, billing, are enforcing the policies and procedures that were created, there will be things missed leaving the door of malpractice open. Making sure that all staff members know the importance of everyone else’s positions is paramount (Marbury, 2014). A great analogy of this would be considering a chain; each link has its’ own part in keeping the chain whole and when one is missing or broken, the chain is no longer whole or able to serve its purpose. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV) speaks about the value found in teams: Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And, though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Medical malpractice can be found in different areas of an organization and within different positions of the staff. Maureen Glabman, in Hospitals & Health Networks, shares 10 of the most common causes of medical malpractice against hospitals, collected from Jury Verdict Research Marsh Inc, and the Boston-based Risk Management Foundation: 1. Medication Errors
2. Diagnosis Failures
3. Negligent Supervision
4. Delayed Treatment
5. Failure to Obtain Consent
6. Lack of Proper Credentialing or Technical Skill
7. Unexpected Death
8. Iatrogenic injury, nosocomial and wound infections, fractures
9. Pain and Suffering, emotional distress10. Lack of teamwork, communication. (Glabman, 2004) The list above shows the importance of all areas within a healthcare organization in order to keep malpractice suits as little as possible. In my position, I am currently on several committees that help ensure policy and procedures are up-to-date and being followed by staff. This reinforces the analogy of each link being critical to the entire chain as each position is in a healthcare organization. In the hospice department, there are many differences in comparison to a hospital stay. The mission and vision statement consist of deeper peace in the present rather than pressing hard to the future. There is a difference in regulations, treatment (palliative not curative), coverage from insurance, and the hospice programs do not support just the patient but also the caregiver/families while the patient is still under care but then with bereavement/grief care after the patient has passed away. Unfortunately, many Americans have their access to hospice and other forms of palliative care blocked by lack of information, misunderstanding, financial limitation, and other less tangible factors including fear (Finestone and Inderwise, 2008). I am employed at an organization that is able to offer palliative and hospice care. Palliative is usually accompanied by a patient’s primary care physician (PCP) using (typically) their Medicare benefits such as their Part D. Hospice, on the other hand, gives the option of still having their PCP or having the hospice’s medical director to take over their care. Hospice is a non0-curative program and in order to qualify a PCP must give a referral stating that the patient has 6 months or less if, the diagnosis runs the usual course. This can be hard for not only the patient but family and friends as well. The other major distinction in hospice care is that because of the reimbursement structure, hospice is required only to provide comfort-focused care related to the hospice diagnosis (Buss, 2017). Despite the clear advantages in quality of life for terminally ill patients and the cost benefits associated with palliative and hospice care, the decision to utilize hospice is made by only an estimated fraction of the patients who stand to benefit (Finestone & Inderwise, 2008). Some of this rests on the end-of-life perceptions that some people hold. I believe that (and have been involved) with people who, because of the misconception of palliative care and hospice, believe that the care given is unethical. I have not been involved with any malpractice suit involving the hospice program or with the hospital, which we are affiliated with. The policies and procedures (and/or checklists as some refer to them) are vital in order to stay in compliance with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Accordingly, the best systems will implement checks and rechecks in order to catch and contain these errors (Sohn, 2013). JCAHO requires a proactive risk assessment in order to obtain our accreditation. I, in agreement with my director and coworkers, credit our good standing to the strict guidelines set in place by JCAHO. Some staff members of organizations may believe policies, procedures, involved leadership, and rules of a healthcare organization micro-manage and slow down productivity; however, these things are what keeps the success of a healthcare organization flowing properly while keeping not only the patient safety but the staff as well
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