COURSE
SYLLABUS AND SCHEDULE OUTLINE FOR
MEDICAL ETHICS
AND LEGAL ISSUES (34-HCMT-271-XXX)
INDIVIDUALIZED
STUDY
Legal Aspects of Health Care
Administration, by Pozgar, 8th edition, Aspen
Publishing, 2002 ISBN: 0-8342-1911-5
A
discussion and case review of codes of ethics, patient's bill of rights,
medical malpractice cases, and legal and ethical issues for medical offices.
1. Explain medical ethics and apply ethical
principles in health care.
2. Explain and apply the patient's bill of
rights.
3. Understand and appreciate the importance of
medical office personnel having a
working knowledge of legal principles.
4.
Examine and understand the anatomy and procedures of a medical
malpractice case.
5. Examine and understand the economic,
psychological, and sociological aspects of medical malpractice.
6. Identify and examine the ethical and legal
issues of death and dying.
7.
Identify and examine the ethical and legal issues of other contemporary
topics in health care.
1) Research and obtain an
article from any general or medical periodical (Cincinnati Enquirer, News Week,
Medical Economics, etc.)
2)
A 3x5 or 4x6 card must be used
3)
Attach the article or a copy of it to one side of the card
4)
Highlight or underline topics discussed in the article which we have
reviewed in class
5)
Write or type your opinion of the issue on the other side of the
card. Why is the issue important? What other issues need to be considered?
Case Studies: Case studies in medical ethics and legal
issues will be assigned during the term.
Additional details and copies of cases not contained in the text will need
to be obtained using Lexis/Nexis. Students will be responsible for establishing
some of the case work including:
researching and reviewing cases, providing case materials and discussing
the case via e-mail.
End
of Unit Questions: For each lesson questions will
be posed for the student to respond to which relate to the material. The responses to each question should be kept
to ½ page, typed, and double-spaced.
Quarter
Paper: The student will prepare a 10-page paper,
which focuses on a specific topic of interest to the student relating to
medical office management. The paper
must be typed, double-spaced with a 1-inch margin around each page. The paper should be e-mailed to the
instructor as a file attachment. The
topic must be approved by the instructor.
Example topics include: Medical
Record Privacy, Managed Care, Euthanasia, and Informed Consent.
The final grade will be determined as follows:
Professor Contact 50 Points
End of Unit Questions (20 @ 5 points each) 100 Points
Cases (3 @ 50 points each) 150
Points
Issue Summaries (2 Summaries @ 25 points each)
50 Points
Quarter Paper 150
Points
-------------
Total Points 500
Points
Attendance is a requirement of the course. If for some reason you cannot attend a class, please let me know by using one of the phone numbers (or other means) listed above.
Any assignments are due at the
beginning of the class period as indicated on the Course Schedule. Late assignments will be reduced at least one letter grade per class day at
the discretion of the instructor.
Assignments will not be
accepted one week after the due date has passed.
Consider this class to be a call-free, beep-free, vibrate mode-free
zone of silence.
Make-up exams will be given at the discretion of the
instructor. The student must notify the instructor of
the absence before the exam
begins. If proper notification is given, a make-up exam will be administered
which may be significantly more challenging than the examination given on the
scheduled date.
The policy as stated in the
The current withdrawal policy of
Students
with Disabilities: The policy of the
University of Cincinnati Clermont College requires students to self-identify
and provide proper documentation to the Director of the
The following plus/minus grading system will apply:
92 - 100% = A 91 - 89% = A-
88 - 87% = B+ 86 -
82% = B 81 - 79% = B-
78 77% = C+ 76 72% = C 71 69% = C- 68 67% = D+ 66 62% = D
61 59% = D - 58% and Under = F
Note: The course schedule and procedures are tentative and subject to change depending upon the progress of the class.
Objective(s)
To introduce the student to the
To
understand the sources of law and administrative agencies that impact health
care.
The
entire course packet and syllabus
Chapter
One Introduction to Law
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
What is/are the source(s) of law that most impact health care providers?
2)
What is HCFA responsible for?
Contact
the instructor by phone or e-mail to discuss the course requirements.
Objective(s)
To
understand the issues involved in negligence and torts.
Chapter Two Tort Law
Chapter Four Contracts and
Antitrust (Pages 80 86 only)
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
What are the elements of negligence?
Give an example for a health care provider.
2)
What types of antitrust violations should health care providers be concerned with?
Case
Assignment 1:
Find
a full-text case of Lexis/Nexis pertaining to
negligence of a health care provider.
Prepare a ½ - 1 page summary of the case and discuss briefly both the
majority and dissenting opinions, if applicable.
Begin
searching for articles for the issue summaries.
Objective(s)
To
understand the role of nurses and nurse practioners
and possible liability that doctors and facilities assume related to employing
nurses.
Chapter
Eight Nursing and the Law
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
Define the term respondent superior.
What does this mean for a hospital that employs RNs?
2)
What types of typical RN negligent acts can the management of an
organization help to prevent? How?
Complete
and mail issue summary 1.
Objective(s)
To
understand the implications of liability for different types of health care
providers and the differing standards of care applied.
Chapter
Nine Liability by Department and Health Professional
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
Define standard of care. Why is
this different for different providers?
2)
What are some common facilities issues that may bring up questions or
actions regarding liability?
Case
Assignment 2:
Find
a full-text case of Lexis/Nexis pertaining to a
slip at a hospital or other facilities oriented liability issue. Prepare a ½ - 1 page summary of the case and discuss
briefly both the majority and dissenting opinions, if applicable.
Paper: Choose a topic for your quarter paper and
contact the professor.
Objective(s)
To review and understand the basics of medical records management.
To understand the complexities of patient information management.
Chapter
Ten Information Management and Health Care Records
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
Who owns the medical record?
2)
What are the pros and cons of electronic medical records (EMRs)?
Paper: Upon obtaining approval for your topic, begin
work on your quarter paper.
Objective(s)
To
define the concept of informed consent and understand what is required to
obtain informed consent.
Chapter
Eleven Patient Consent
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
What was/is the purpose of the Patient Self-Determination Act?
2)
Define informed consent in your own words. Who must obtain informed consent from a
patient?
Paper: Begin collecting supporting documentation for
the quarter paper.
Objective(s)
To
understand the rights that patients have with respect to their treatment in
health care facilities.
Chapter
Fourteen Patient Rights & Responsibilities
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
Can a patient refuse treatment?
If so, how?
2)
What are the patients rights with respect to transfers?
Paper: Continue work on the quarter paper.
Objective(s)
To
understand the legal and ethical issues related to end of life.
Chapter
Sixteen End of Life Issues
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
What is euthanasia? What legal
issues arise for providers and facilities related to euthanasia?
2)
Who determines when someone is incapacitated? What then happens to the medical decisions of
the incapacitated person?
Case
Assignment 3:
Find
a full-text case of Lexis/Nexis pertaining to a death
or end of life issue. Prepare a ½ - 1
page summary of the case and discuss briefly both the majority and dissenting
opinions, if applicable.
Complete
and mail issue summary #2.
Paper: Continue work on the quarter paper.
Objective(s)
To understand the concept of insurance, especially as it relates to
malpractice insurance for health care providers.
Chapter
Seventeen Malpractice Insurance
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
What is insurance? Why do we
purchase insurance?
2)
Compare and contrast occurance and claims
made malpractice insurance policies.
Paper: Complete and mail/e-mail your paper to the
instructor.
Objective(s)
To integrate the coursework into the final paper.
To understand the implications of labor relations in health care
facilities.
Chapter
Eighteen Labor Relations
The
student will submit responses to the following questions:
1)
Are unions a positive or negative for health care organizations? For patient care? Support your answer.
2)
What rights do laborers and management have when negotiating labor
agreements?
Paper: Call the instructor for feedback and comments
on your paper, and if necessary make changes and re-submit the paper.