Instructions

Course Objectives for Assignment: 

Analyze the unique qualities of American constitutional, statutory, and common law principles in relation to healthcare administration.

Identify potential areas of liability in a variety of contexts and evaluate potential solutions to legal problems and challenges in healthcare administration and delivery.

complete the memo.

Your health care organization has just learned that it is out of compliance in the problem areas listed below.  You have been asked to research ONE problem and prepare an interoffice research memo that is  double spaced and not more than four pages.  The Memo should addressed to the Risk Manager  and include the following sections with a heading in bold for each section. Use APA 7 for in-text citations and references.

Use only classroom materials to complete the memo.  This would include  the textbooks, web links, and the Classroom law library, and  Compliance library

Memo Heading

Memo To:

Memo From:

Date:

Re: (Regarding – your topic)

Brief description of the problem

State  and/or  federal  law and agency guidelines or regulations that govern the issue including  the penalty for non-compliance

• Evaluate the organizational vicarious liability.
• Evaluate 3 risk management tools that could be used to manage the risk. Indicate why you selected the tools you did. Identify how you would use the tool to identify, correct, and/or prevent risk in the situation you selected

Recommend a 3-step (3 action) risk management plan that includes at least one of the risk management tools you evaluated.  

Give reasons to support your plan recommendations which include how the plan will mitigate, prevent, and correct the specific risk stated in your problem.

Problems (Select One)

There was a drug and dose mix-up in the hospital last week.  A pharmacist employee put the incorrect medication in the patient cart and mixed up the dose from weekly to daily.  This resulted in an overdose of the incorrect medication leading to patient death. The family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the pharmacist and the hospital.

An employed physician was on staff in the emergency room last week.  He failed to diagnose a kidney stone.  The patient returned to the emergency room two days later when a kidney stone and abdominal infection were diagnosed. The delay in treatment left the patient with double the medical bill.  The patient is suing the physician and hospital for the cost of care from the delayed diagnosis.

The infants in the newborn well-baby nursery of your hospital all have infections.  The infections have been tracked back to poor sanitation of the basinets between babies and cleaning staff playing with the babies at night after cleaning dirty equipment. 3 of the parents are suing the hospital for the illness and extended hospitalization costs for their infants.

The Certified Nurse Assistants (CNA) in your hospital have been on mandatory overtime for a month because of the high patient load.  Their supervisor told them they must work overtime, but the payroll clerk is refusing to pay out so much overtime.  The  CNAs are suing the hospital under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for overtime pay.

• An employee has taken a leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for cancer treatment which was documented as a disability under the ADA and ADAAA.  The employee did not return to work on the day scheduled and was terminated.  The former worker has filed a claim of disability discrimination with the EEOC and a “mediation conference” is scheduled for next week to discuss the claim.

A black female nurse employee has applied to be a Nurse Manager 3 times, but has not been hired for the position. Every time a white male with less experience has been hired for the position.  The nurse feels that she has been discriminated against and wants to file an EEOC race and gender discrimination claim.

• The union has organized all of the cleaning staff who voted for Union #222 to represent them in bargaining with the hospital.  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has certified the union, but hospital management refuse to bargain with the union.  The union has filed an unfair labor practice claim with the NLRB.