Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Healthcare Law and IT

With the advent of medical technologies, the medication practices, procedures, and treatments have improved a lot. The doctors and the physicians are finding it more comfortable with the newly developed procedures. These new techniques have been developed with the help of Information Technology (IT) resources and platforms. All the relevant medical applications utilized the platform of these IT resources, and help the doctors and the physicians to improve their overall efficiency. Doctors and clinicians are combining their old medical knowledge with this new technological knowledge, and thereby have started applying it in the daily practices.Healthcare Law and IT Essay In their daily practices, they store valuable information of the patients, their current health status, their disorder symptoms and other relevant issues, and the required course of action. Further, they are now able to communicate easily with the other doctors and healthcare service providers with the helps of this informatics, for conducting in-depth consultation of the given patient. During the past time, it was difficult to organize such meetings, store such valuable information of all the patients, and even synchronize their schedules (Adhikari & Lapinsky, 2003). But, with the help of these healthcare systems, all these challenges can be solved effectively and easily. Medical informatics deals with promoting healthcare and understanding the core issues faced by today’s clinicians.

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The traditional paper-based system is now out of the given scenario, and instead large and complex medical organizations are now dealing with enormous amount of data-sets with the help of these IT Systems (Altman, 2003).Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Health care in the United States has changed over the years and the federal government saw need to establish regulatory agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure the elderly, disabled and low income receive quality and cost-effective health care.

As a result of health care costs sharply increasing, the government determined it needed to have oversight on the health care industry and pushed for the establishment of managed care organizations (MCO). CMS enforces the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA); this act was created to ensure health care organizations provide a minimum of a medical screening exam to determine if complaint is emergent or not. Most importantly for EMTALA is the obligation to treat emergent cases regardless of the patient’s ability to pay for services. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was approved by the United States Congress to regulate the use of and protect patient health records and the Department of Health & Human Services oversees the compliance and violations of HIPAA (Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). The intentions of many of these regulatory agencies is to oversee that the health care industry is providing quality, affordable health care and treating patients with fairness and privacy.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

According to CMS: Steady Growth in Health Spending, 2008) In 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) anticipated that by 2017 the yearly health awareness spending in the United States [will] reach more than $4.3 trillion. Health care expenses will keep on rising so it is vital that CMS attempts to deal with those expenses. CMS is one of the governmental regulatory agencies known in the health care industry. It has various regulations that it directs. The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) was secured to guarantee all patients have the capacity to get to crisis health awareness treatment paying little heed to capacity to pay for the administrations rendered (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, n.d.). Human services associations are committed by law to give a medicinal screening to patients displaying for treatment, without respect to the quiet’s budgetary status. Any medicinal services associations which pick not to take after EMTALA and are found in infringement are liable to punishments and fines, including losing government subsidizing for treatment of CMS patients and the assignment of being a Medicare sanction supplier. Since our social insurance association is non-benefit, we go past EMTALA. A piece of our statement of purpose mirrors our dedication to the “poor and the helpless” and we take that announcement to heart by giving $398 million in philanthropy watch over financial year 2012 (Seton Healthcare Family, n.d.). EMTALA is the baseline in providing care to patients. In order to make an impact and see a difference in the community, we pour millions of charity dollars into the care of those less fortunate. Because our health care organization was founded and continues to work closely with the Daughters of Charity, we hold fast to the teachings of their founders, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac to show God’s unconditional love through caring for the ‘sick, poor and destitute’ (Seton Healthcare Family, n.d.).Healthcare Law and IT Essay

In 2004, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an amended rendition of the Responsibilities of Medicare Participating Hospitals in Emergency Cases Guidelines and sketched out imperative changes to earlier year’s rules. One of the greatest changes was the cancellation of “stable for exchange” dialect and supplanted with “steady and prepared for release”. Brown & Cochran, (2004) sated that a patient is viewed as “steady” when “inside sensible clinical certainty, it is resolved that the individual has come to the point where his/her proceeded with consideration, including analytic work up and/or treatment, could be sensibly executed as an outpatient or later as an inpatient Healthcare Law and IT Essay

In public health and health care sectors, law and health policies play critical roles in controlling illnesses and reducing deaths. Therefore, it is important to include them in study of health care and public health. It is important for future healthcare and public health practitioners to understand the scope and influence of law in their field of practice (Andre, 2002). Public health law focuses on role of government in improvement of health at various levels of society.
In addition, it deals with legal issues experienced in public health practice, as well as effects on health of people (Andre, 2002). Policies and laws that aim to reduce diseases and injuries, as well as promote provision of quality health care services to people govern the health care and public health sectors. Therefore, they aid future practitioners in understanding how law and policy affects their work, as well as their role in implementing their requirements (Andre, 2002).Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Bioethics refers to study of ethics initiated by advancements in medicine and biology (Andre, 2002). In addition, it refers to process of making decisions in relation to health care policy and practice. It deals with ethical questions that arise from implementation of health care policies. Bioethics is an important component that shapes and determines establishment of health policies.

Many issues arise from developments in the medical field and health care sector. The issues have varying bioethical implications on health policy, as they affect the well-being of communities (Andre, 2002). In addition, development of health policy generates ethical issues that affect delivery of health care services. On the other hand, bioethics deals with ethical implications of public policy as it relates to delivery of health care services (Andre, 2002).

The health care sector has many controversies mainly caused and resolved using health policies. Such controversies include abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, patient self-determination, and role of practitioners in safeguarding patients’ privacy of medical information. Bioethics covers controversial issues related to establishment and implementation of health policy (Andre, 2002).Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Decisions related to health law and policy affect interests of many stakeholders. Stakeholders such as employers, the public, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and researchers have different interests in health law and policy (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2013). Therefore, changes in health law and policy affect their interests significantly.

Choices regarding certain policies and passage or interpretation of certain laws affect interests of stakeholders immensely. For example, a court of law could make a ruling regarding requirements of physician licensing and associated duties of physicians to patients (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2013).
The court could rule that a medical practitioner is at will to either treat patient or decline to treat a patient despite the fact that he/she was acting as the doctor of the patient’s family. This ruling would affect many stakeholders. It would affect the patient, the family of the patient, and other medical practitioners (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2013). It would also affect legislation of the state because the law on licensing could have been ambiguous and therefore in need of amendment.

Another stakeholder that would be affected is the public. If such law were passed, it would affect all decisions related to health care and public health. Policy choices or passage and interpretation of law affect the interests of many stakeholders. In the foregoing example, affected stakeholders include the public, health care providers, patients, and the government (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2013).Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Legal Issues Affecting Healthcare

Healthcare is an important aspect of humanity. Therefore, is should be guided or governed by a standard code of conduct that puts into account the legal and ethical requirements or expectations of the practitioners. Consequently, every encounter with a patient involves a lot of legal issues. Therefore, it may be complicated to offer the efficient and quality services if you do not understand the required legal and ethics codes when dealing with patients. Knowing, understanding and following the required and set rules does not only ensure quality services but is also critical in ensuring that you avoid unnecessary and additional costs that arise from lawsuits from patients. Apart from being costly, the lawsuits are time-consuming and may adversely affect the practitioners business or career. Following the legal and ethics code may also keep you away from disciplinary actions that may be very embarrassing.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Confidentiality
The main issue that is paramount for the practitioner to the patient is the protection of the patient’s information and records. Any information about the patient should is confidential. It should not be disclosed or discussed with any person that are not concerned and given the right to that information. Remember that releasing the patients information may lead to damaging their name. It is, therefore, a show of respect to protecting the patient’s information from getting to the wrong people who do not have the right privilege of the law to access such information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act dictate clearly what information should be released to whom. Some information need not be provided to the insurance companies. However, some confidentiality may be broken where there is the need to prevent a third party who is at risk.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

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Consent
This is some legal issue that is mostly ignored by many and especially when health problems with a low-risk probability are involved. However, this will become a fundamental requirement in the case of complex procedures and treatment. For any treatment to be legal, the patient must be provided with the right information. The risks and any side effects must be explained clearly to the patient. After that, they are supposed to give informed consent. When dealing with minors, parents are required to give the consent on their behalf. In some states like California, a child above the age of twelve has the right to make their health decisions. The doctors cannot discuss health information of children beyond twelve years of age without their consent.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Medical Law and Ethics
Law and ethics are different disciplines which tend to interact in different ways especially in the medical profession. Medical practitioners face many issues in their medical practice that require other professionals such as lawyers, ethicists and risk managers to intervene. This is where law and ethics interact with medicine in order to ensure that the medical practices and activities are done in an ethical and legal manner. Medical law and ethics will guarantee safety to all medical practitioners as well as the patients in any medical facility.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Medical law and ethics requires the expertise of medical practitioners, ethicists and lawyers. Each of these experts has a role to play in the medical environment where medical and law or ethics experts consult over a range of issues that arise often. For example, risk management experts and lawyers have a close link with most health care institutions. In fact, some health facilities hire risk managers to be their attorneys. The distinction between law and ethics is well defined as follows. Ethics is concerned with reducing bad behavior and mechanisms in a health institution, for instance, risk management helps in the reduction of the risk of incurring liabilities caused by the practices or policies in the health institution. Law on the other hand in concerned with the establishment of rules of social conduct. The enforcement of the laws will lead to any violations of the rules being treated as civil or criminal liability. Therefore, medical ethics an important discipline or methodology that helps in considering effects of medical treatment and technology.

Medical ethics and law are expressed and derived from various sources. The laws are usually formulated and enforced by the federal and state authorities. Laws can also be derived from state or federal statutes. Expression of laws can further be done through federal and state regulations on certain medical practices. Finally, case laws, where decisions of individual law suits are made at the appellate levels of both state and federal courts. On the other hand, ethics are expressed and enforced through the use of social and legal frameworks of the health facility.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

The ethical and law concepts are used together in close relations. Ethics are used to identify the values that ought to be observed and respected within a health facility by both the staff and patients. Law on the other hand, is used to express the values and ethos of social life that must be enforced in a health environment to ensure an efficient and successful environment for both staff and patients. The medical laws and ethics play a major role to ensure the medical discipline is run efficiently by professionals and that the patients are treated with quality expertise. Laws and ethics each plays a distinct role which occasionally overlaps from on discipline to another to ensure a good medical environment.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Medical laws and ethics help citizens of all background to access descent medical care. The laws state that every citizen has a right to life and good health. Such laws together with the specific laws that refer to how all citizens in the country should be given proper medical care are important in promoting medical care. Ethics also help because in any given society, it is crucial that any individual who is sick or faces any kind of medical problem should be given medical attention. The laws grant every individual the right to access proper medication and also guides on the procedures that should be observed in a medical facility such as the transfer and stabilization programs, care provision and emergency treatment. Ethically, it is also required that patients who are so sick require emergency treatment while other patients’ conditions should be stabilized and if they require further treatment, they should be transferred to better medical facilities with specialized experts.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Medical law and ethics is also used when dealing with matters of informed consent. Informed consent is a requirement whereby before a patient agrees to any medical procedure to be done on them, either the patient’s next of kin or the patient themselves are fully informed of what the procedure is all about, its effects, its costs and how it will be done by the medical experts. Every patient must consent to procedures such as surgery, therapy or any other complex medical procedure. The medical staff also must consent to any form of medical procedure before it is done by any doctor. There have been cases where doctors performed procedures illegally and ended up being sued. Such cases include carrying out abortions against the hospital’s go-ahead or performing surgery on patients without their consent. It is required by law that consent by either the patient or the hospital is necessities before any medical procedures are done on any patient.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Confidentiality of any information that is health care related, baring situations where there is need for mandatory reporting obligations like duty to warn, elder and child abuse, is another role that medical law and ethics play. The health care laws state that it is ethically and legally sound that patient information is kept confidential to only the patient and the hospital management.

Laws and ethics are also used in medical facilities when dealing with matters of abortion. Abortion has been a contentious issue in many countries over its legality. Ethically, abortion is not allowed in society since it is considered murder. The laws require that abortion should not be allowed unless it is necessary for the sake of the expectant woman. It can only be performed if the life of the woman is in danger. Therefore, medical experts put in mind both the ethical and legal perspective when making decisions about abortion.Healthcare Law and IT Essay

Suicide is illegal and ethically wrong in any society or country in the world. In medicine, decisions have at times to be made concerning suicide. Physician assisted suicide is a medical procedure where a physician induces death to a patient who could have some health issues. Cases of physician assisted suicide are delicate matters which have to be assessed by hospital attorneys to determine the medical or health situation of the patient. Patient who have to be assisted to commit suicide have to be those whose health is deteriorating and will definitely die, therefore, to avoid further emotional, mental and physical suffering, the patient is assisted by a physician to pass away.

In medical laws and ethics, there is a defined way of communicating with health care providers. There are those people who have the privileged opportunities to communicate with providers of health care services. There is a designed procedure that has to be followed to communicate. The hospital designs their ethics in a way that this procedure is followed to the later. The law also requires that only specific individuals be given such rights to communicate. Therefore, laws and ethics play a major role in ensuring that the medical sector is efficiently run by experts and there is law and order in the facilities. It is because of medical laws and ethics that medical facilities can do what is legal and also what is ethical according to the law of the country and the ethics of the people. This ensures integrity, transparency and professionalism in the medical sector.Healthcare Law and IT Essay