Category: Healthcare

For many years the United States government has taken keen interest on the welfare of the healthcare consumers, especially in regard to healthcare fraud. Notably there have been numerous fraudulent transactions within the American healthcare system, which have had severe medical and financial implications. Specifically, the United States government has lost billion of dollars due to healthcare fraud.

This is coupled with many patients who have been conned off their benefits as a result of transfer of policy to a different. As a result the United States government came up with laws to regulate the healthcare sector and minimize, as well as prosecute cases of fraud. These laws are famously referred to as The Anti-Kickback Statutes.

The case of Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group joint venture, which offered financial benefits to facilitate the agreement on the transfer to patients, a majority of whom are under Medicare plan, violates the requirement of the Anti-Kickback law. However, this plan can still be safeguarded if it is modeled along a different approach which fulfills the requirement of safe harbor exemptions.

There have been a number of healthcare landmark cases, such as Feldstein v. Nash Community Health Services, Inc., which have brought forth a number of urgent concerns.

Suffice to state that healthcare issues are intricate and complicated to the extent that the United States government developed a set of detailed statues referred to as the Anti-Kickback Statutes to address emergent issues in healthcare provision (Office of Inspector General, 1999; Altshuler, Creekpaum and Fang 2008).

The main purpose for this law is to protect the welfare of healthcare consumers from exploitation by fraudulent healthcare providers. One of the major concerns that arise is the determination of whether any (healthcare) transaction is either a minor misdemeanor or fraud. In this regard, it is the primary objective of the prosecutor to determine whether there was intent and objective of obtaining kickbacks.

Furthermore, debate still ranges on, on the definition of the terms kickback and bribe. Out of Subsequent cases, there have emerged several interpretations of the terms kickback. The United States V Hancock case assumed the broader interpretation of the term kickback as the intentional receiving of payments fraudulently.

This definition does not however, address other issues of concern such as nonfinancial benefits. As a result, the congressional amendments of 1977 stipulated that Medicare fraud did not have to result in a kickback. Currently, the Social Security Act stipulates that any party in a Medicare agreement cannot offer or receive payments or any other benefits to engineer a business deal (Schwartz, 2003).

Just like the Feldstein v. Nash Community Health Services, Inc., the Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group joint venture involves financial and social security privileges to employees. Sundown Community Hospital is intending to make the deal a success and as such has to put together an attractive offer to Central Park Medical Group in terms of permanent staff privileges to Central Park owners.

This also includes monthly bonuses. Since the deal is proposed by Sundown Community Hospital, the privileges to Central Park Medical Group staff are intended to make an appeal and as such avoid any objection to the deal. Furthermore, 60% of the healthcare consumers at Central Park Medical Group are under Medicare plan.

This implies that Sundown Community Hospital stands to benefit directly from the joint ownership of these consumers who are on Medicare. Such implications made Sundown Community Hospital to offer kickbacks in terms of indirect payments to permanent staff, to successfully engineer the deal. It can thus be concluded that such kickbacks were made willfully and knowingly to induce business.

The anti-kickback statute prohibits and criminalizes any willful payments made knowingly to engineer the referral or transfer of any individual who is a beneficiary of any medicare scheme. As such the statute proposes criminal penalties for any payments made, such as in the United States v Jain to induce the said referrals and transfers, which includes prison terms and fines.

Furthermore, any party found to have willfully offer or received such payments attracts criminal liability for such offenses (Romano and Fox, 2009). This case is therefore in contravention of the Anti-kickback Statutes as well as the 1996 regulation on the movement of healthcare consumers between providers, referred to as The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Price and Norris, 2009).

Therefore, the joint venture between Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group cannot proceed since the two parties faces criminal charges for giving and receiving indirect payment to induce referrals of Medicare consumers.

This deal can however go ahead, but under the 1972 congressional amendments which provided for certain safe harbors regulations. Within these regulations, there are certain business transactions which are can be exempted from the Anti-Kickback Statutes (Schwartz, 2003). While there are numerous safe harbor regulations, two specific one can protect this deal from criminal liability.

Specialty Referral Arrangements between Providers is a regulation within the Anti-kickback Statutes that safeguards the referrals and transfer of Medicare beneficiaries between providers. Under this provision, it is possible to refer a patient from the primary physician to a secondary physician on grounds of specialized treatment.

The regulation also stipulates that the party to whom the patient is being referred to has the obligation of referring the patient back to the primary healthcare provider at some point during the course of the treatment (Office of Inspector General, 1999).

Suffice to say that this kind of an arrangement is closely monitored to ensure that such transfers are motivated by the need for further medical treatment from specialized physician and not timed to benefit the second party financially.

As such, Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group patient transfers are only applicable on the grounds of specialized medical treatment. Furthermore, Anti-Kickback Statutes do not exempt such kind of a transaction to the extent of financial benefits if the patient is on a Federal Healthcare plan.

In this case, the parties involved in this plan have to ensure that the 60% of patients are under a state controlled medical plan before filing for exemption from the Anti-Kickback Statutes.

Transfer of patients who are on any form of Medicare plan is not necessarily a fraud. As such, the parties involved may not be criminally liable for engineering patient transfer and co ownership deals on certain grounds.

The Sundown Community Hospital / Central Park Medical Group joint venture is however suspect. Borrowing from rulings such as Feldstein v. Nash Community Health Services, United States V Hancock and others, the two parties involved are criminally liable since they knowingly exchanged payments as part of the business agreement.

As such the deal is not motivated by medical reasons and as such need to be redesigned to avoid prosecution.

Reference List

Altshuler, M., Creekpaum, J., & Fang, J.. (2008). Health care fraud. The American Criminal Law Review, 45(2), 607-664.

Office of Inspector General (1999). Federal Anti-Kickback Law and regulatory safe harbor. Web.

Price, M., and Norris, D. (2009). Health care fraud: Physicians as white collar criminals?Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Web.

Romano, D. and Fox, A. (2009). What to do when youre recruitment agreement leaves town. AHLA Connections. Web.

Schwartz, J. (2003). Elaborating on sham transactions as evidence of violations of the anti-kickback statute. Journal of Law & Policy. Web.

The field of medicine is very sensitive since it involves dealing with human beings. Precautionary measures should be taken so as not to violate the fundamental rights of individuals/clients. Some actions in the course of interaction between the medical professionals and their clients may be so gross as to call for stern reaction in order to redress them.

There are some instances where the clients have been mistreated by physicians and just like any other criminal case, legal actions are pursued (Sharpe, 2005). The essay discusses two common legal concepts; gross negligence, negligence, and malpractice and unintentional versus intentional torts and how they may apply in a health care setting.

Gross negligence as used in legal terms refers to a misconduct exhibited as a result of being obviously reckless or careless that even an ordinary person with no legal background can tell (Westrick & Dempski, 2008). It is an incident that may be termed an act of ignorance. Usually, ignorance is no defense in any court of law.

Simple negligence, on the other hand, is a form of negligence that is exhibited by an individual but some degree of care seems to have been exercised by the defendant (Sharpe, 2005). Malpractice is closely related with negligence and refers to a practice that contravenes what is expected of a given individual, usually a professional or specialist like in the case of the medical field (Sharpe, 2005).

When applied to a health care setting, these concepts help in categorizing the various malpractices by the medical professionals. Gross negligence, for instance, refers to utter disregard of principles and careless conduct that is so reckless even an individual with no medical background or training can tell its gravity (Westrick & Dempski, 2008).

These acts are usually deliberate and with ill intent. Some of the actions may include; willfully leaving a surgical instrument in a patients body cavity or a surgeon deliberately amputating a limb which is not affected or infected in any way (Sharpe, 2005). However, sometimes the medical professional may end up committing a serious act even after exercising some degree of care and had no intention of maltreating the client. This amounts to simple negligence although it may prove difficult to differentiate between the two.

In general, medical professionals and specialists like surgeons, dentists, and opticians may be charged with different cases of malpractices. Malpractice refers to the careless misconduct or negligent/improper actions by a professional in the course of his duties.

Medical malpractice generally refers to various forms of omissions and commissions as a result of varying degrees of negligence on the side of a medical professional (Westrick & Dempski, 2008). Some of the medical malpractices include exposing confidential/patient-specific information, surgical or diagnostic errors, below-par healthcare services, and lack of consent in non-emergency incidences.

The other legal term is unintentional versus intentional tort which has been defined by many courts with an aim of distinguishing the various misconducts. Unintentional tort refers to a behavior that results in the injury or harm of another person though not intended to do so

. In the medical field, unintentional tort refers to those acts by a medical professional that unintentionally cause harm to a client (Hill & Howlett, 2005). They can be regarded as accidents resulting from negligence or in most cases omission. Intentional tort, on the other hand, refers to torts that are committed intentionally/at will.

For a case to be regarded intentional, the plaintiff must prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the defendant acted willfully with an aim of harming the complainant (Springhouse Corporation, 2004). Examples of these acts include unjustified imprisonment, battery, cross-land trespass, psychological torture, violation of confidentiality laws, fraud, operation without consent of the patient or next of keen, and assault. They also include all the ill acts that a specialist may commit outside the medical profession.

References

Hill, S. S. & Howlett, H. A. (2005). Success in practical nursing (5^th ed). Elsevier Health Sciences

Sharpe, C. C. (2005). Medical malpractice: liability and risk management. Greenwood Publishing Group

Springhouse Corporation (2004). Physicians legal handbook (5^th ed). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Westrick, S. J. & Dempski, K. (2008). Understanding nursing law and ethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning

For many years the United States government has taken keen interest on the welfare of the healthcare consumers, especially in regard to healthcare fraud. Notably there have been numerous fraudulent transactions within the American healthcare system, which have had severe medical and financial implications. Specifically, the United States government has lost billion of dollars due to healthcare fraud.

This is coupled with many patients who have been conned off their benefits as a result of transfer of policy to a different. As a result the United States government came up with laws to regulate the healthcare sector and minimize, as well as prosecute cases of fraud. These laws are famously referred to as The Anti-Kickback Statutes.

The case of Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group joint venture, which offered financial benefits to facilitate the agreement on the transfer to patients, a majority of whom are under Medicare plan, violates the requirement of the Anti-Kickback law. However, this plan can still be safeguarded if it is modeled along a different approach which fulfills the requirement of safe harbor exemptions.

There have been a number of healthcare landmark cases, such as Feldstein v. Nash Community Health Services, Inc., which have brought forth a number of urgent concerns.

Suffice to state that healthcare issues are intricate and complicated to the extent that the United States government developed a set of detailed statues referred to as the Anti-Kickback Statutes to address emergent issues in healthcare provision (Office of Inspector General, 1999; Altshuler, Creekpaum and Fang 2008).

The main purpose for this law is to protect the welfare of healthcare consumers from exploitation by fraudulent healthcare providers. One of the major concerns that arise is the determination of whether any (healthcare) transaction is either a minor misdemeanor or fraud. In this regard, it is the primary objective of the prosecutor to determine whether there was intent and objective of obtaining kickbacks.

Furthermore, debate still ranges on, on the definition of the terms kickback and bribe. Out of Subsequent cases, there have emerged several interpretations of the terms kickback. The United States V Hancock case assumed the broader interpretation of the term kickback as the intentional receiving of payments fraudulently.

This definition does not however, address other issues of concern such as nonfinancial benefits. As a result, the congressional amendments of 1977 stipulated that Medicare fraud did not have to result in a kickback. Currently, the Social Security Act stipulates that any party in a Medicare agreement cannot offer or receive payments or any other benefits to engineer a business deal (Schwartz, 2003).

Just like the Feldstein v. Nash Community Health Services, Inc., the Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group joint venture involves financial and social security privileges to employees. Sundown Community Hospital is intending to make the deal a success and as such has to put together an attractive offer to Central Park Medical Group in terms of permanent staff privileges to Central Park owners.

This also includes monthly bonuses. Since the deal is proposed by Sundown Community Hospital, the privileges to Central Park Medical Group staff are intended to make an appeal and as such avoid any objection to the deal. Furthermore, 60% of the healthcare consumers at Central Park Medical Group are under Medicare plan.

This implies that Sundown Community Hospital stands to benefit directly from the joint ownership of these consumers who are on Medicare. Such implications made Sundown Community Hospital to offer kickbacks in terms of indirect payments to permanent staff, to successfully engineer the deal. It can thus be concluded that such kickbacks were made willfully and knowingly to induce business.

The anti-kickback statute prohibits and criminalizes any willful payments made knowingly to engineer the referral or transfer of any individual who is a beneficiary of any medicare scheme. As such the statute proposes criminal penalties for any payments made, such as in the United States v Jain to induce the said referrals and transfers, which includes prison terms and fines.

Furthermore, any party found to have willfully offer or received such payments attracts criminal liability for such offenses (Romano and Fox, 2009). This case is therefore in contravention of the Anti-kickback Statutes as well as the 1996 regulation on the movement of healthcare consumers between providers, referred to as The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Price and Norris, 2009).

Therefore, the joint venture between Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group cannot proceed since the two parties faces criminal charges for giving and receiving indirect payment to induce referrals of Medicare consumers.

This deal can however go ahead, but under the 1972 congressional amendments which provided for certain safe harbors regulations. Within these regulations, there are certain business transactions which are can be exempted from the Anti-Kickback Statutes (Schwartz, 2003). While there are numerous safe harbor regulations, two specific one can protect this deal from criminal liability.

Specialty Referral Arrangements between Providers is a regulation within the Anti-kickback Statutes that safeguards the referrals and transfer of Medicare beneficiaries between providers. Under this provision, it is possible to refer a patient from the primary physician to a secondary physician on grounds of specialized treatment.

The regulation also stipulates that the party to whom the patient is being referred to has the obligation of referring the patient back to the primary healthcare provider at some point during the course of the treatment (Office of Inspector General, 1999).

Suffice to say that this kind of an arrangement is closely monitored to ensure that such transfers are motivated by the need for further medical treatment from specialized physician and not timed to benefit the second party financially.

As such, Sundown Community Hospital and Central Park Medical Group patient transfers are only applicable on the grounds of specialized medical treatment. Furthermore, Anti-Kickback Statutes do not exempt such kind of a transaction to the extent of financial benefits if the patient is on a Federal Healthcare plan.

In this case, the parties involved in this plan have to ensure that the 60% of patients are under a state controlled medical plan before filing for exemption from the Anti-Kickback Statutes.

Transfer of patients who are on any form of Medicare plan is not necessarily a fraud. As such, the parties involved may not be criminally liable for engineering patient transfer and co ownership deals on certain grounds.

The Sundown Community Hospital / Central Park Medical Group joint venture is however suspect. Borrowing from rulings such as Feldstein v. Nash Community Health Services, United States V Hancock and others, the two parties involved are criminally liable since they knowingly exchanged payments as part of the business agreement.

As such the deal is not motivated by medical reasons and as such need to be redesigned to avoid prosecution.

Reference List

Altshuler, M., Creekpaum, J., & Fang, J.. (2008). Health care fraud. The American Criminal Law Review, 45(2), 607-664.

Office of Inspector General (1999). Federal Anti-Kickback Law and regulatory safe harbor. Web.

Price, M., and Norris, D. (2009). Health care fraud: Physicians as white collar criminals?Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Web.

Romano, D. and Fox, A. (2009). What to do when youre recruitment agreement leaves town. AHLA Connections. Web.

Schwartz, J. (2003). Elaborating on sham transactions as evidence of violations of the anti-kickback statute. Journal of Law & Policy. Web.

HIPPA is committed to maintaining the privacy of any patients personal information. In this case, healthcare professionals need to ensure that any medical information that can be used to identify a patient is not disclosed to third parties without consent (What is considered protected, n.d). Medical professionals have access to any information that can be used to provide medical services to a patient. Therefore, it is legitimate to use the data to continue treatment and to ensure patient safety. I can use the patients medical data to communicate and transmit the necessary prescriptions and instructions since the quality of the services provided by the hospital depends on this. I can correct this error and send copies of the documents to the patient by email or other technically reliable communication channels, having previously obtained his consent. The patient can also visit the hospital to receive written prescriptions and instructions for recovery.

Hospitals can use a variety of methods to enhance and maintain the privacy of reception or waiting room information. First, it is necessary to strictly monitor all documents so that they do not appear in the hands of visitors or other patients. Second, it is necessary to plan the space so that patients and visitors do not have direct visual contact with any personal data. Third, it is important to separate the area for communication between medical workers from the reception itself so that information cannot be accidentally overheard. The breach in confidentiality leads to the legal responsibility of the medical professional to the patient since the disclosure of personal data can cause significant harm. Additionally, the healthcare professional can face fines, disciplinary penalties, including dismissal, as such episodes damage the reputation of the healthcare facility.

There are exceptions to the confidentiality rules that exist to prevent any dangerous or unfavorable situation. For example, a court may require the disclosure of personal medical information in case of proceedings or in the investigation of crimes as evidence. HIPPA also emphasizes that data that cannot be used to identify a patient is not private, which also makes it possible to use them for statistics or research (What is considered protected, n.d). However, in this case, it is necessary to observe all precautions to conceal the specific individuals who own the data.

Reference

What is considered protected health information under HIPAA? (n.d). HIPPA Journal. Web.

The Federal Government Is a Leader in Insurance Programs

Federal programs help to create a significant basis for public health services and services that could be available to all people on the territory of the United States.¹ Nowadays, the federal government turns out to be a leader in insurance reform because of its power to make changes, the abilities to control different spheres of living and even the necessity of having a strong body that could improve safety and quality of healthcare services.

Driving healthcare reforms and the improvement of healthcare services quality are the initial tasks of the federal government, and it is important to understand the effects of such practices as reimbursement or billing on Medicare and other programs to identify the bodies that could succeed in pharmacy reforming.

Insurance Reimbursement

The evaluation of the governmental impact on healthcare reforms shows that Medicare is one of the most sensitive programs in regards to insurance reimbursement. This kind of payment is made to a provider or a patient in exchange for certain healthcare services.² The peculiar feature of reimbursement concerning Medicare is the necessity to consider all limitations and barriers that include appropriate therapy choices, consider the product development, and understand the effects of payment rates regarding covered therapies and other cost-sharing requirements.³ Other insurance plans do not have such specific characteristics and requirements. Therefore, the impact of insurance reimbursement on other healthcare plan and programs remains to be insignificant.

Billing Practices

Billing services introduce another important type of insurance practice that has to be properly organized and run by professionals, who understand how to design and implement the accounts in healthcare practice.² Federal government insurance billing practices usually impact Medicare because of the necessity to consider insurance claims, additional payments, patient demographics, charges, and other insurance information. In other words, billing practices of Medicare are predetermined by the government and cannot be changed in accordance with a patient or hospital demand. Other insurance plans do not have such strict restrictions and obligations, and patients are free to choose the types of fees in their insurance programs.

Underlying Factors that Create More Impact on Medicare

Medicare is one of the well-known federally funded programs that aim at providing Americans with health insurance and support for a long period of time.⁴ In comparison to other insurance plans, Medicare has a number of advantages plans that could help to cover general medical and hospital benefits and additional medical, prescription, vision, and dental services.⁴ Regarding such opportunities, the federal government has to follow the conditions under which Medicare cooperates with patients and offers its services. Another important factor that could explain the phenomenon and its impact is the absence of a certain out-of-pocket maximum and the possibility to spend as much money as possible on any healthcare services.

Effective Legislative Bodies to Create Reform

The American President could face a number of challenges while presenting various policies and laws to be implemented in the healthcare system. Congress is the legislative branch that controls the decisions. There are two legislative bodies in Congress, including the House of Representatives and the Senate.³ Each body type could represent different parties, and the division of powers has to be properly organized and explained. The House of Representatives usually supports the interests of ordinary people, and the Senate considers the general financial and political position of the country to make weighted decisions.

Most Effective Legislative Body Pertaining to Pharmacy

The quality of pharmaceutical service is a frequently discussed topic in the United States because it deals with drugs, food, and cosmetics control. Legislation and regulation should not be defined as the same thing. Regulations are the rules that help to interpret laws, and legislation is the process of laws creation.³ The laws could pass or be rejected. Therefore, one of the main impacts of the body is the necessity to identify the steps that could prove the importance of a bill or reduce such importance. Another effective means includes the possibility to control the drugs that should be imported and offered to people whose lives depend on the quality of the products.

Potential Areas for Improvement with Pharmacy Legislation

Regarding the impact of pharmaceutical legislation, it is possible to say that there are a number of areas that could be improved with the help of special laws and rules. For example, it could be suggested to evaluate the trade sphere of the country and define appropriate trade relations with the countries, which succeed in producing effective drugs and cosmetics (Switzerland, Germany, or China). Another suggestion touches upon the healthcare system of the country and citizens possibility to get access to the drugs they are in need of. Medicare helps people to cover their expenses. However, not all people get a chance to understand the true effect and importance of the offered drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the sphere that could help people to exchange information about drugs in their lives.

Conclusion

In general, the role of Medicare is crucial in the majority of American lives. Still, the federal government is the body that controls this program. Therefore, the role of the government should not be neglected as well because it helps to create appropriate reimbursement and billing standards, define legislative bodies, and develop the laws and rules that could facilitate a life.

Works Cited

1. Burke, J, Friedman, LH. Essentials of Management and Leadership in Public Health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2011.
2. Beik, JI. Health Insurance Today: A Practical Approach. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2014.
3. Kronenfeld, JJ, Kronenfeld, M. Healthcare Reform in America: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO; 2015.
4. Kronenfeld, JJ. Medicare. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO; 2011.

Overview of Project

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a leading country in the Gulf region in terms of technological development and innovation (Pathrose 2016). Many spheres, such as economy, technology, and science, have already been improved. However, there is one area that has not received sufficient attention and development  healthcare. While this sphere is of utmost importance for all citizens, the government does not pay enough care to its enhancement and does not implement much innovation in it. Research in the sphere of healthcare innovations is crucial because it will answer any questions about the gaps in this sphere and will provide possible solutions to making the situation better. The major investments for a competitive advantage in healthcare are technological innovations (Alsadan et al. 2015). Also, the modernization of educating medical staff is necessary to reach better outcomes (Ibrahim, Al Tatari & Holmboe 2015).

The analysis of the issue will be performed at the macrolevel. It is necessary to investigate the problem at the national level since healthcare concerns all people living in the country. The research problem is insufficient attention to healthcare innovations in the UAE and the ways of improving the current situation. The purpose of the study is to investigate the existing innovative methods in the system of healthcare and identify the areas that require more attention.

Theory and Hypotheses

Innovations in healthcare will be discussed in a macrolevel dimension. The theoretical perspective used for the project will be deductive reasoning. A review of journal articles and secondary literature and a survey of the opinions of UAE citizens are expected to demonstrate the level of innovation in healthcare as well as peoples opinions about the current situation. Research questions will be focused on the following issues:

• what innovations have been implemented in healthcare recently?
• what reforms are planned by the government to improve the healthcare system?
• what do citizens expect from the innovations?

The working hypothesis is, Healthcare system of the UAE is currently not sufficiently strengthened by modern technology and innovative approaches.

Research Methodology

In addition to a literature review, an interview (qualitative) and a questionnaire (qualitative) will be developed for use with randomly selected citizens of the UAE. For this study, communication with 50 people aged 22-45 years will be performed to ask them questions about the quality of healthcare in the region. The questionnaire will consist of open-ended and closed-ended questions.

Analysis of Results and Limitations

Content analysis and descriptive statistics will be used to discuss the results of the research. The results will be introduced in specially developed graphs and tables. The major limitation of the study will probably be a small sample size.

Contributions and Outlets

Scholars and policymakers may be interested in this project because they will be able to share the results during different managerial meetings devoted to the further development of healthcare in the region. Journals and conferences focused on nursing, medicine, and healthcare will be most appropriate for sharing the research results.

Citations/References and Exhibits

The study will include references from peer-reviewed scholarly journals and secondary sources such as articles from the internet.

Anticipated Challenges

The main challenge is to gather enough material for the analysis and convince ordinary people to participate in research. Also, it will be necessary to develop distinct research purposes and explanations to guarantee the potential participants privacy and obtain as much information as possible from them.

Reference List

Alsadan, M, El Metwally, A, Ali, A, Jamal, A, Khalifa, M & Househ, M 2015, Health information technology (HIT) in Arab countries: a systematic review study on HIT progress, Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 32-49.

Ibrahim, H, Al Tatari, H & Holmboe, E 2015, The transition to competency-based pediatric training in the United Arab Emirates, BMC Medical Education, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 65-69.

Pathrose, EP 2016, UAEs innovation strategies are game changers, Khaleej Times, Web.

The universal healthcare system can seem unknown and dangerous since the US healthcare is not accustomed to the concept. However, this system can be beneficial for US society.

Firstly, universal healthcare means the availability of medical services. Thus, more people will have access to qualified medical services. Fewer people will be absent on sick leave. People will not have to spend too much money on medication, and their buying capacity will rise. People will be healthier and stronger, and they will be able to work harder to develop the US economy. It is possible to note that a universal healthcare system will be beneficial for the state, which will be able to develop.

Secondly, this system will positively affect the development of US healthcare. At present, many hospitals abuse their power. These institutions have real power over peoples health and even lives. Some healthcare professionals are more concerned with their salaries than the services they provide. This negatively affects the quality of healthcare services. Such countries as Japan or Germany have created a good system where healthcare institutions are not allowed to make a profit. Thus, the US system will benefit from this concept as healthcare professionals will be concerned with their professional development more.

Thirdly, the universal healthcare system will help the US build a better, more unified society. People will understand that the state cares about them trying to provide them with basic services. This will make US citizens more committed to work harder to help the country develop. Therefore, it is possible to think of at least three benefits of a universal healthcare system in the USA.

Nursing and the Law

In the context of healthcare, information management can be described as the maintenance of records containing the confidential data of patients and medical workers.

A medical record should contain information related to a patients diagnosis, symptoms, and that the treatment that he/she received (Pozgar, 2011, p. 255). These data should be used by physicians and medical workers while choosing a treatment option that can best suit a patient.

The main advantage of computer-generated medical records is that they can be quickly accessed by a physician. Moreover, they can be easily transferred from one hospital to another. In turn, the main disadvantage is that the confidential data of patients can become available to unauthorized third-parties. It is the main risk that should be addressed.

In my opinion, there are situations when the medical record of a patient should be released. In particular, one can speak about those cases when an individual requires urgent medical assistance.

Peer-review information generated by medical organizations is protected because the release of these records can result in the disclosure of confidential information. Furthermore, this release can give rise to various lawsuits that can be filed against a medical institution.

In my view, the statements given by a defendant to the peer-review committee should be discoverable by a plaintiff in two cases. This information can help a person to protect his/her rights in this court. However, there are two important requirements. First of all, this information should be relevant to the case. Secondly, these records should be accessed only if the necessary data cannot be found in other documents.

Some parts of peer-review documentation should be protected. In particular, one should focus on the sections that can throw light on policy-making within this institution or the analysis of organizational problems. This protection is necessary to safeguard a hospital against possible legal liabilities and lawsuits (Pozgar, 2011, p. 271).

8) The court does not protect the information which can be gathered before a physician applies for staff privileges (Pozgar, 2011, p. 271).

9) Patients records should be maintained during the period within which a lawsuit can file against the organization. So, they should be kept at least for fifteen years. However, hospitals prefer to stores this information for a longer period.

Hospital Departments and Allied Professionals

An attending physician is responsible for reviewing the benefits and alternatives of various diagnostic tests or treatment options.

To secure the informed consent of a patient, a physician should fully discuss the benefits and risks of a certain medical procedure (Pozgar, 2011, p. 278). Moreover, a medical worker should explain why this procedure has been selected, among others.

It is important to obtain informed consent because, in this way, physicians and medical organizations can safeguard themselves against lawsuits for malpractices.

Yes, a patient can withdraw its consent even when the medical procedure is performed. However, he/she cannot do it if the termination of a medical procedure can endanger his/her life or health.

A parent cannot deny consent to the lifesaving medical procedure that can save the life of his/her child.

From an objective viewpoint, informed consent can be attained if a physician fully describes the advantages and disadvantages of a diagnostic test or treatment method. Moreover, a physician should speak about the probability of success (Pozgar, 2011, p. 286). However, one should not forget about the subjective experiences of a patient, such as the mental stress that he/she can struggle with.

It is critical to remember that in the majority of cases, patients are not learned in medical science. Therefore, a physician should give detailed explanations while speaking about various diagnostic tests or treatment options.

Information Management and Patient Records

Child abuse can be defined as the intentional mental, sexual, or physical injury which can be inflicted either by a parent or other person who is responsible for the wellbeing of a child (Pozgar, 2011, p. 206).

Medical workers, educators, and psychologists are obliged to report child abuse if they see signs of possible injuries.

There are various signs of elder abuse; one should pay close attention to such indicators as unexplained scars or bruises, dislocations, broken eyeglasses, and many others. Moreover, a caregiver, who does not allow medical or social workers to see the elder person, can also be suspected of inflicting a physical or emotional injury.

The Health Care Quality Improvement Act was adopted to protect the rights of patients. Before the inaction of this law, physicians could easily move from one state to another without having to disclose their malpractice payments. However, they could threaten the life and health of many other patients. In turn, this legal action was aimed at fostering peer-review in medical organizations.

The National Practitioner Data Bank was established to improve the quality of healthcare. This database stores information about possible malpractices of physicians. This information can be accessed by hospital administrators.

A sentinel event is an unexpected death or permanent injury that cannot be explained by a patients illness (Pozgar, 2011, p. 306).

The Root cause analysis is a chronological review of a certain unexpected and unwanted event. While working on this task, hospital administrators and physicians should identify when, how, and why a certain event took place (Pozgar, 2011).

There are several elements of a corporate compliance program. Secondly, it should contain the mechanism for the identification of possible malpractices. Secondly, this program should ensure that hospital administrators can prevent such pitfalls.

Reference List

Pozgar, G. (2011). Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

What are the differences in financial reports for a non-profit entity vs. a for-profit entity?

Financial reports are annual documents, which are prepared by accounting departments in order to inform companies of their financial position at a given time. They are common in both non-profit and for-profit entities since they give a clear picture of the financial ability of a company. However, the reports are not similar in terms of their content and the approach used to present them. The aim of for-profit entity reports is to make profits while non-profit entity reports focus on service provision.

The first difference between financial reports for non-profit entities and for-profit entities is that for-profit entity reports indicate efficient management of all finances for them to win the confidence of investors. On the other hand, non-profit entity reports indicate the little finances that they require to run their activities. The biggest percentage of their finances is used to fund programs that improve the lives of disadvantaged people (Jane, 2013).

The second difference is that financial reports for entities that focus on profit, making provide information about their services in order to earn more money. On the other hand, financial reports for non-profit entities indicate the most successful programs and how they can improve their services to benefit disadvantaged people.

The third difference between financial reports for non-profit and for-profit entities is the manner in which the reports begin. For-profit entity reports begin with a letter to the management that summarizes the organizations previous financial year and challenges that it encountered. On the other hand, non-profit entity reports begin by reiterating the purpose of the organization and its benefit to disadvantaged people.

How do different departments in a hospital receive financial information?

Most hospitals are comprised of different departments, which offer different services. This means that communication is very important in order to coordinate services that are provided in the departments. One of the most important types of communication that should take place in hospitals is the transmission of financial information to different departments. This is important because it enables each department to understand the financial position of the hospital and how departments should utilize the available money to perform their activities.

An accounting department is responsible for disseminating financial information to other departments in a hospital. The department is comprised of experts who possess advanced financial knowledge. They hold meetings and plan on how to handle all financial matters in the hospital. The department prepares budgets, payrolls pays bills, and handles all income that is generated by the hospital. The financial reports are summarized for everybody to understand them.

Written financial reports are then given to departmental heads, who are responsible for delivering them to junior employees in their departments. In case of issues that require clarification, employees from different departments can also access the accounting department directly. This ensures that they are regularly updated on financial matters (Dolphin & Reed, 2012).

References

Dolphin, R., & Reed, D. (2012). Fundamentals of Corporate Communications. New York: Routledge.

Jane, M. (2013). What Are the Differences in Financial Reports for a Non-Profit Vs. a For-Profit Entity? Web.

Company

Todd Park and Jonathan bush were pivotal in the formation of Athenahealth in 1997. The success of the company is, however, attributed to the effort of hired consultants from other companies. Training medical claims underwriters in the country were the primary vision of the company. This proved futile due to the nature of the healthcare environment and forced the company to diversify into software development (Udell, 28). This software enhances practice management services by physicians through the provision of an an-easy-to-use interface. After a series of frustrating failures, the company reinvented itself to focus on software products for healthcare facilities in the United States (Udell, 29).

Missions and visions of Athenahealth

As stated in the mission statement of Athenahealth, the company endeavors to be the most trusted service provider in the healthcare sector. According to the chairman of the company, innovative technology and the commitment of the people enabled the company to provide crucial assistance to physicians. Athenahealth envisions an institution with a strong foundation and the ability to offer support services to physicians across the country and beyond (Adler-Milstein and Robert, 351).

Objectives of Athenahealth

Athenahealth seeks to provide high quality, state of the art electronic health record software to hospitals in the country. It also endeavors to enhance the management and leadership abilities of physicians and healthcare professionals through quality training opportunities. Finally, the company seeks to provide a connection between the physicians and the patients to enhance service delivery (Udell, 27).

Issues facing Athenahealth

Despite the progress made by the company in the provision of the management healthcare system to healthcare facilities, it has faced a number of challenges. The inability of hospitals to upgrade their information technology systems limits the companys entry into new markets. The Einhorn saga also affected the reputation of the company after it was implicated (Gold, 358).

Works Cited

Adler-Milstein, Julia, and Robert Huckman. The Impact Of Electronic Health Record Use On Physician Productivity. American Journal of Managed Care 19.1 (2013): 345-352. Print.

Udell, Melody. 10 Minutes with Rob Cosinuke. Marketing Health Services 34.3 (2014): 28-31. Print.