HEALTH LAW

Health Law and Regulations

Health Law and Regulations

Introduction

The health care practitioners and health related facilities that are provided are monitored by the health care regulatory agencies. Besides monitoring, these bodies also provide information. This information is related to any kind of changes that occur in the industry. Moreover, they also aim to promote safety and to ensure that all the legalities are met. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) are two health care regulatory agencies that look after the health related aspects (Loustaunau & Elisa, 1997).Role of Government Regulatory Agencies

Health is a very important and sensitive issue that has to be dealt with seriously. Moreover, it is also a human need and, therefore, the prices that patients are charged for the services should be nominal. The primary purpose of the health care agencies is to supervise the services and the health care practitioners. Besides this, they also provide with information related to the industry and the changes that occur in the industry. Their goal is also to ensure as well as to promote safety by ensuring that all the legalities have been met, and quality services are provided to patients. Rules for the health care industry are formulated by the federal, state and local regulatory agencies. Voluntary participation is also required by some agencies for accreditation. This is important because certification of quality and rankings are provided by them (Sage, 2011).

Impact on health care industry

Since the government regulatory agencies are playing a major role in the health care industry, they also have a significant impact. The government regulatory agencies have to ensure that all policies and procedures are according to the rules and regulations. They also formulate rules and make sure that they are followed. Since they rank the health care agencies, it is important for all these agencies to work according to the rules made by the government agencies. However, hefty fines can be implemented on those who do not comply to the rules (Carmichael & Ratzan, 1991). This is because the government regulatory agencies have power and they can take strict actions against any illegal activity. Therefore, the government regulatory agencies have a major impact on the health care industry. However, the two major problems that have to be dealt with are mentioned below.

Administrative costs

Uninsured individuals

Tax rates

Examples

Two examples of Laws and Regulations currently faced by the Health care Industry are mentioned below. FDA

FDA is known as “Food & Drug Administration”. The purpose of this body is to have an oversight on drugs, vaccines, medical devices, biologic and blood products. Moreover, the body is also responsible for formulating rules with regards to testing, approvals of additional products and clinical trials. Besides this, FDA also examines safety, medical errors and adverse reactions to treatment. In this way, they create awareness about the risks in the health care industry and treatments that are linked with the risks. The FDA also monitors food products to make certain safety of your food supply (Davies, ...