Module 2 Discussion
This week’s discussion will be taken directly from a case study in the text. I look forward to your insight on these issues in light of your reading and viewing.
“In the 1991 case Burditt v. Department of Health and Human Services, EMTALA was violated by a physician when he ordered a woman with dangerously high blood pressure (210/130) and in active labor with ruptured membranes transferred from the emergency department of one hospital to another hospital 170 miles away. The physician was assessed a penalty of $20,000. Dr. Louis Sullivan, secretary of DHHS at that time, issued a statement: ‘This decision sends a message to physicians everywhere that they need to provide quality care to everyone in need of emergency treatment who comes to a hospital. This is a significant opinion and we are pleased with the result.’
With the duty of care defined in EMTALA, Medicare-participating hospitals must provide a medical screening exam to any individual who enters the emergency department and requests examination or treatment for a medical condition. If the hospital determines that the individual has a medical emergency, it must then stabilize the condition or provide for an appropriate transfer to another medical facility. The hospital is obligated to provide these services regardless of the individual’s ability to play and without delay to inquire about the individual’s method of payment or insurance status.
Those ED physicians who do not wish to treat all patients of their choosing should vote with their feet and work in those settings where they can choose who they treat.
…
1) What are the main issues in this case? …
(2) What could have been done to prevent the ethical and legal issues from occurring in the first place? …
(3) Describe both the hospital’s and the physician’s ethical and legal responsibilities.” (Pozgar, p. 208)
Pozgar, G. D. (2024). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXw-hEB263k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xki2fRA0bY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgbUs2OpKQk
This week we will study how law is created and enforced in the United States. Law and regulations determine how healthcare workers should do their jobs, and control rights of healthcare workers and patients.
To understand how laws and regulations are formed and enforced as related to healthcare, we need to understand where the authority to regulate healthcare comes from in the first place.
The authority to “regulate” anything in the United States is vested in the Executive Branch of government, which is overseen by the President of the United States. The Executive Branch also oversees agencies (such as the Department of Health and Human Services, or the Food & Drug Adminstration). However, the Executive Branch can only make and enforce regulations based upon statutes (laws) that are enacted by the Legislative Branch, commonly referred to as “Congress.”
The Judicial branch of government reviews the laws passed by the Legislative branch and the regulations passed, and laws enforced by, the Executive branch to ensure that neither branch is exceeding its powers under the Constitutions of the United States or violating the rights of citizens.
This system of government operates the same at both the federal and state levels. The only real difference is that the federal government makes federal laws applicable to all citizens of the United States while the state governments make laws pertaining to just what goes on within their own geographical boundaries. There also might be different terminology used for the departments and positions in different states as compared to each other and the federal government.
Legal restrictions and requirements that healthcare workers and healthcare institutions must follow are based on statutes, regulations, and case law.
This week, you should complete the reading and view materials listed on the “Read, Watch, Listen” page. You will complete a discussion on the discussion board (make sure to post on three separate days, beginning no later than Wednesday). This week you will also take your first quiz. This quiz will be short and cover the introductory information from the first two weeks. It will include seven multiple choice questions and one short answer question. I have given you a limit of 40 minutes to complete it. It must be completed by the end of the week.
Summary of Activities
Read Chapter 5 and Chapter 7 of the text
Watch linked videos
Participate in Module 2 Discussion
