HLT308 All Weeks Discussions (October 2019)

HLT 308 Risks Management and Health Care Regulations

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 Explain the role of accreditation in mitigating risk compliance issues. Provide an example of a health care organization that was placed on probation by its accrediting body or by CMS within the last 3 years for a risk compliance issue. What caused the probation or loss of accreditation and how could it have been prevented?

DQ2 Briefly describe how the risk management program at the organization where you work (or at that of a typical health care organization) addresses social media and patient information privacy. Provide three examples of risk management steps your health care organization (or another health care organization) could take to further protect patient information. Support your analysis with a minimum of one peer-reviewed reference.

HLT 308 Risks Management and Health Care Regulations

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 With the growing importance of increasing wage rates for employees, many health care organizations are implementing technology such as self-help kiosks to reduce staffing. Describe both an advantage and a disadvantage to this practice and discuss how patients may perceive reductions in dedicated staffing.

DQ2 Research the role of an administrator versus that of a nonmanagement staff member in dealing with a workers’ compensation incident in a typical health care organization. What are the minimal responsibilities and reporting duties for each? What recommendations would you suggest for improving organizational compliance with regulatory requirements at the staff level? Support your analysis with a minimum of one peer-reviewed reference.

HLT 308 Risks Management and Health Care Regulations

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) was implemented to allow patients to state “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNS), or to assign a surrogate decision maker in the event that the individual is unable to make the decision. What relationship does an ethics committee have in enforcing the advance directives of the patients in their care? Support your analysis with a minimum of one peer-reviewed article.

DQ2 The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes a list of health care-acquired conditions (HACs) that reasonably could have been prevented through the application of risk management strategies. What actions has your health care organization (or have health care organizations in general) implemented to manage or prevent these “never events” from happening within their health care facilities? Support your response with a minimum two peer-reviewed articles.

HLT 308 Risks Management and Health Care Regulations

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 Describe one of the safety committees your organization uses and how it reduces risk within your organization. Who are the general members of the group, how often do they meet, and is there a regulatory requirement that they report or publish notes? Is this a good use of the staff’s time or would another method that still addresses the safety goal of this group be more efficient?

DQ2 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), and the Joint Commission (JC) require that health care organizations maintain risk management programs to address infection control. Detail three measures that your health care organization (or any health care organization) could implement, beyond what is currently in practice, to support the delivery of safe health care services and avoid the spread of infection (e.g., placing hand washing devices at all of the public entrances of the health care facility). Support your response with a minimum of two peer-reviewed references.

HLT 308 Risks Management and Health Care Regulations

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 Health care organizations continually face challenges from various regulatory and government agencies while also being bound by Managed Care Organization (MCO) standards. View the video located in the study materials entitled “College of Nursing and Health Care Professions: Do We Know What Our Future Is?” for insight into the challenges of health care reform. Based on the video, describe two key reform factors that you believe will need to be addressed by future health care workers or leaders and explain why. (Note: You can download slides from this video for ease of review in developing your forum response). Additionally, what role does adherence to MCO standards play in your future health care vision?

DQ2 The Affordable Care Act (ACA) identifies requirements related to provider compliance with fraud, waste, and abuse laws that have been enacted to protect consumers. Research three of these requirements and describe the corresponding measures that your health care organization has initiated, or could initiate, to comply with the ACA. Support your analysis with a minimum of two peer-reviewed articles.