Law and Healthcare

Law and Healthcare

Introduction

Every society has certain laws that enable it to endorse what is right and to punish those who disobey its intent. Laws are developed to protect the foundations of a society and hence secure rights of its citizens (Pozgard, G. D., 2012). Similarly, laws are created for Healthcare as well, as healthcare today has become a risky business. According to the seminal report released from the Institute of Medicine in 1999, the deaths of hospitalized patients were increased from 44,000 to 98,000 due the medical errors (www.jblearning.com). It further pointed out that deaths occurring from adverse events associated with healthcare are much more than expiries from accidents or breast cancer, which is the eight leading cause of death in America. The report immediately calls for an action by healthcare community and it came up with certain laws that help preventing medical errors (www.jblearning.com). There are different laws developed by the healthcare legal committee which directly impact the healthcare professionals and prevents them to make any medical errors that can cause deaths.

Discussion

Healthcare system has been complex today and therefore it is challenging to manage risks for those in positions to lead. It is really essential now for health professionals like nurses, executives and others to understand and comply with the laws pertaining to healthcare and they should make every effort to ensure the safety and protection of the public, employees, and organization.

Types Of Laws Most Directly Impact Health Professions

Invasion of Privacy

Healthcare professionals are legally bound to withhold the medical records of their patients unless they have exceptionally good reason to disclose it. If the need arises then they should take help of their legal counsel and establish appropriate reasons for the disclosure and should add those reasons in their health information policies (Roach, 2008).

There are four major types of invasion of privacy established by the common law:

Unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another

Appropriation of another's name or likeness (Roach, 2008)

Unreasonable publicity that can cause other to fall in a false light

Unreasonable publicity of another's private life (Roach, 2008)

When a patient authorizes disclosure, he or she cannot claim the invasion of privacy later. Thus, healthcare professionals should release medical information of a patient only after obtaining the written authorization from that patient (Roach, 2008).

Defamation of character

When an individual suffers harm due to the false statement issuance by another person it is called ...