COURSE INFORMATION
This CE course focuses on the major components of the Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration, past and present. You will review interesting complex problems and discover a comprehensive approach to learning about legal and ethical issues that affect our healthcare system. We review organizations responses to dealing with the many stressors that influence an organization. Real-world healthcare current events provide the student with a sense of reality checks experienced by patients and healthcare professionals. The need to learn from the mistakes experienced by others to avoid making them again is emphasized. Students will learn how law, ethics and medicine intertwine. The knowledge gained from this course serves to improve the competency of the student to prevent them from becoming the next headline. Accountability for outcomes and quality is an additional focus as related to government structure, law and ethics. The concepts of reliance and intentional torts are reviewed in relation to tort reform and risk reduction initiatives. The criminal aspects of healthcare and the basics of contract law as it pertains to healthcare professionals are important parts or our course content as are the introduction to civil procedure and trial practice. Medical staff organization and physician liability along with a review of laws affecting nursing practices, a review of common nursing errors and legal risks of other hospital departments are key to providing the student with a detailed understanding of issues that affect them in day-to-day operations. Information management, patient consent issues and patient’s rights and responsibilities are discussed as they related to patient care. The role of healthcare ethics principles, theories and values along with beginning and end-of life issues is also part of our studies. We also look at the many influences of policy setting practices. Legal reporting requirements that affect healthcare providers and Human Resource practices are discussed. We also touch upon managed care influences, professional liability insurance and conclude with a look at the practical application of law and ethics through Case Law discussions. This course will provide any prospective or sitting manager an understanding of the many contemporary issues they need to be conversant with in order to be successful in their jobs. This course will also expose prospective medical legal consultants to a foundation of knowledge that will be useful in their provision of services.
Course Code: HL 410.
Contact hours of continuing education = 40.
Instructor/Course Author: Mark C. Barabas, BS, DHA, FACHE
Link to Resume
Email: mcbarabas@aol.com
TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.
Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration, George D. Pozgar, Legal Aspects of healthcare administration, 14th Edition, 2023, Jones & Bartlett Learning.
ISBN-10: 1284231526
ISBN-13: 978-1284231526
Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here
TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.
GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 40 hours of awarded continuing education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will receive notice of your total % score. Those who score below the minimum of 70% will be contacted by AIHCP and will be permitted one more attempt to retake the online examination.
BOARD APPROVALS: The American Institute of Health Care Professionals (The Provider) is approved by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number # CEP 15595 for 40 Contact Hours. Access information
This course, which is approved by the Florida State Board Of Nursing (CE Provider # 50-11975) also has the following Board of Nursing Approvals, for 40 contact hours of CE
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Arkansas Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Georgia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Professional Registered Nurses. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the New Mexico Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here
ONLINE CLASSROOM RESOURCES AND TOOLS
- Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as “open book” tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.
- Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page “Student Resource Center.” The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.
- Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.
- Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor’s online resume/biography, as well as your instructor’s specific contact information.
- Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional “readings” and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
Chapter 12:
- Describe a variety of legal issues that occur in patient care settings
- Discuss the purpose of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
- Describe the purpose of certification and licensure and the reasons for revocation of licenses
- Explain the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to patient care
Chapter 13:
- Describe the contents of medical records
- Explain the importance of maintaining complete and accurate records
- Explain the ownership of and who can access a patient’s medical record
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of electronic medical records
- Explain why the medical record is important in legal proceedings
- Describe a variety of ways in which medical records have been falsified
- Explain what is meant by the medical record battleground
- Describe the purpose of the Privacy Act of 1974 and the HIPPA Act of 1996 and how they affect hospital and medical practices
Chapter 14:
- Discuss the differences among verbal, written and implied consent
- Describe the role of the patient, physician, nurse and hospital in informed consent
- Describe the theories under which the validity of consent might be proven
- Explain how consent differs among competent patients, minors, guardians and incompetent patients
Chapter 15:
- Describe the rights and responsibilities of patients
- Discuss the importance of understanding patient rights and responsibilities
Chapter 16:
- Describe the concepts of ethics and morality
- Discuss how an understanding of ethical theories, principles and virtues is helpful in resolving ethical dilemmas
- Explain the relationship between spirituality and religion
- Discuss situational ethics and how one’s moral character can change as circumstances change
Chapter 17:
- Discuss the 1973 Supreme court ruling in Roe vs Wade and the continuing controversy over abortion
- Describe the flow of abortion cases beginning with Roe vs Wade, concentrating on counseling, spousal consent, parental consent and funding
- Define the legal issues of sterilization, artificial insemination and surrogacy
- Describe the legal and moral issues of wrongful birth, wrongful life and wrongful conception
Chapter 18:
- Discuss the human struggle to survive and the right to autonomous decision making
- Describe how patient autonomy has been impacted by case law and legislative enactments
- Discuss the following concepts: preservation of life with limits, euthanasia, advanced directives, futility of treatment, withholding and withdrawal of treatment and do not resuscitate orders
- Explain end-of -life issues as they relate to autopsy, organ donations, research, experimentation and clinical trials
- Describe how human genetics and stem cell research can have an impact on end-of life issues
Chapter 19:
- Describe the various forms of child abuse, how to recognize it and reporting requirements
- Describe the various forms of elder abuse, how to recognize it and reporting requirements
- Describe common signs of spousal abuse and what steps staff members can take to address their concerns with patients
- Explain why it is important to report communicable diseases, adverse drug reactions and infectious diseases
- Discuss the importance of reporting births and deaths
- Explain how and why physician incompetence is reported
- Understand the importance of incident reporting, sentinel events and the purpose of root cause analysis
Chapter 20:
- Describe the function and importance of the human resources department in developing a human resources manual that describes the organizations mission, policies and procedures, job descriptions, recruitment application process, performance evaluations, staff development and in-service and continuing education programs
- Discuss the employment-at -will doctrine
- Explain public policies that protect employees from unlawful discharge
- Describe what is meant by retaliatory and constructive discharge and how to defend a claim for unfair discharge
- Describe effective hiring practices and the importance of clear communications
- Describe under what circumstances employers often discharge an employee
- Discuss and understand the rights and responsibilities of employees
Chapter 21:
- Describe the common models of managed care organizations
- Describe the purpose and process of utilization review
- Discuss the purpose and various titles of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010
- Describe various rulings involving the ACA
Chapter 22:
- Describe the purpose of a malpractice insurance policy, including risk categories and the importance to professionals of carrying professional liability insurance
- Explain the elements and conditions of an insurance policy
- Describe the investigation and settlement of claims