legal aspects of u s health care system administration 1

Prevailing wisdom reinforces the fact that working in U.S. health care administration in the 21st Century requires knowledge of the various aspects of health laws as they apply to dealing with medical professionals. Further, because U.S. health care administrators must potentially interact with many levels of professionals beyond the medical profession, it is prudent that they be aware of any federal, state, and local laws that may be applicable to their organizations. Thus, their conduct is also subject to the letter of the law. They must evaluate the quality of their professional interactions and be mindful of the implications and ramifications of their decisions.

Nearly 65 million surgical operations were performed in 2015 in the U.S. resulting in an estimated 200,000 deaths from complications or other post-operative issues (Ghaferi, Myers, Sutcliffe, & Pronovost, 2016). Ongoing innovation in healthcare can improve patient outcomes. According to the Harvard Business Review article, The Next Wave of Hospital Innovation to Make Patients Safer, over the past several decades, there have been three distinct waves of surgical improvement: technical advancements, standardizing procedures, and high reliability organizing.

Assume the role of a top health administrator at We Care Hospital. You are interested in propelling the hospital to the next level by applying for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. However, you want to ensure surgical outcomes for patient morbidity and mortality rates. You begin by researching the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) aimed to improve adherence to quality protocols. You need to ensure the hospital policy is consistent with the law and that the hospital is correctly reporting Sentinel Events to the Joint Commission, a hospital regulatory agency.

Note: You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.