Chapter 3 the Legal and Ethical Side of Medical Insurance

Personal representatives. The confidentiality rule requires that an affected company treat a “personal representative” in the same way as the individual with respect to the use and disclosure of the individual`s protected health information, as well as the rights of the individual under the rule.84 A personal representative is a person legally authorized to make health care decisions on behalf of a person or to act on behalf of a person. deceased person or estate. The data protection rule provides for an exception if a data subject company has reasonable grounds to suspect that the personal representative is abusing or neglecting the person or that the processing of the person as a personal representative could otherwise endanger the person. A well-known medical talk show host recounts a situation in which his television crew filmed a critically ill patient in a California hospital. A woman in Texas watched the episode and claimed the patient was her mother, who had recently died in a Texas hospital, and filed a lawsuit. The film did not show the woman from the front, and the camera clearly showed objects that accurately identified the hospital where the shooting took place. The talk show`s host won the lawsuit, but it cost nearly $20,000 in court and legal fees to settle everything. Help your patients make informed decisions about their care and treatment by learning the medical ethics of consent. The authors of the Quality Chasm report also predicted that healthcare professionals would have to work differently to comply with these rules.

For example, in the chapter “Workforce Readiness”, they identified the key competencies that all healthcare professionals need to implement these new regulations in a changing healthcare environment. The Summit Committee used this list of capabilities and the vision set out in the Quality Chasm report as a basis for its work, combining the list of capabilities into joint groups. The Committee complemented these groupings with a review of other historic reform efforts that have articulated core competencies within or within the health professions. Many of these efforts have emerged from the education sector, both from vocational training organizations and accreditation bodies, and from specialized private commissions, in response to the need to adequately prepare the workforce for the changing practical environment (ABIM Foundation, 2002; American Association of Medical Schools, 2001; Brady et al., 2001; Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education [CAPE] Academic Achievement Advisory Committee, 1998; Halpern et al., 2001; O`Neil and the Pew Health Professions Commission, 1998). Ned Farnsworth brings a prescription to the local pharmacy. Ned lives in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and he often plays golf with Archie, the pharmacist. After Archie filled out Ned`s prescription, Ned said, “Just put that on my bill, Arch. See you next Saturday on the links. » Is this transaction a legally binding contract? If so, (1) what type of contract took place and (2) can you identify the four necessary elements of that contract? Joy and Barbara are well anchored in their curriculum to become health insurance professionals. As they take the course, they begin to see variations in their interests. Although their basic goals are similar, their individual interests evolve in different directions. Barbara soon realized that she preferred to work in a small facility; She intends to learn all aspects of office management.

Joy has a focused heart on a large multi-vendor office where she is more likely to find opportunities to specialize in areas she finds interesting and exciting. One of these areas is the legal and ethical aspect of health insurance. Prior to this course, Joy took a course in business law, which allowed her to gain training in various legal processes. Their teacher talks to the class about the importance of a good and solid education in medical law and ethics, and both women are convinced that this is an important fundamental step in building a solid foundation for knowledge and understanding of health insurance. An in-depth study of how law and ethics affect the world of health insurance intrigues Joy because a distant relative has been involved in a medical lawsuit. For Barbara, law and ethics are a relatively foreign topic and she is curious to see how this relates to health insurance. The Federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1980 (OBRA) states that Medicare is the secondary payer in the case of auto or liability insurance. However, if the auto/liability insurer does not authorize payment due to a “Medicare Master Clause” in the policy, Medicare becomes primary. In the event that the auto/liability insurer makes the payment after the Medicare payment, the provider (or patient) must reimburse the Medicare payment. An interdisciplinary team is made up of members from different professions and professions with different and specialized knowledge, skills and methods. Team members integrate their observations, expertise and areas of decision to coordinate, collaborate and communicate with each other to optimize the care of a patient or group of patients.

It should be noted that, although patients and their caregivers are increasingly performing tasks that were once performed exclusively by health professionals (Hart, 1995; Lorig et al., 1999; By Korff et al., 1997) and could therefore be considered part of the broader health care team, if they so wish, this report focuses on the educational needs of trained health professionals. This competence therefore refers to the different disciplines that work together to meet the needs of patients. Interdisciplinary teams are essential to address the increasing complexity of care, coordinate and respond to multiple patient needs, adapt to the demands of new technologies, meet payer demands, and provide care in all settings (Bluml et al., 1999; Hall and Weaver, 2001; Institute of Medicine, 2001). Teams tend to reduce the use of redundant or duplicate services, and they also tend to find more creative solutions to complex problems because their members have different backgrounds and academic experiences. Patients who require chronic care, acute intensive care, elder care and end-of-life care need a healthy team function because of the complexity of their needs. Various means and attitudes for providing care, such as managed care, community care, rehabilitation centres and critical pathway systems, are gaining momentum and require interdisciplinary teams to ensure the necessary coordination (Amsterdam et al., 1980; McDonough and Doucette, 2001; Weingart, 1996). Most, but not all, care should be carried out by teams, organized formally or informally. Access. Except in certain circumstances, individuals have the right to review and obtain a copy of their protected health information in the designated record of a registered business.55 The “designated record set” is the set of records maintained by or for a registered business that is used, in whole or in part, to make decisions about individuals, or a provider`s medical and billing records relating to individuals or the enrollment of a health insurance plan.

Payment, Damage Decision and Case Management or Medical Care Record Systems.56 The rule excludes from the right of access the following protected health information: psychotherapy notes, information compiled for court proceedings, laboratory results that are prohibited by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CTAAA) or information held by certain research laboratories. For information that falls under the right of access, the undertakings concerned may refuse access to a person in certain situations, for example where a healthcare professional considers that access could cause harm to the person or another. In such situations, the individual must have the right to have these refusals reviewed by a medical officer for a second opinion.57 The companies concerned may charge a reasonable fee based on the costs for copying and postage. Improved quality and it that lead to better patient outcomes. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) operates the nation`s largest healthcare system, providing care at more than 1,200 locations, including 172 medical centers and more than (more…) Exception for the fully insured group health insurance plan. The only administrative obligations that a fully insured group health insurance plan that does not contain more registration dates and summary health information must meet are (1) the prohibition of reprisal and the waiver of individual rights, and (2) the documentation requirements for plan documents when those documents are amended to facilitate the disclosure of protected medical information to the plan sponsor. by a health insurance issuer, or HMO, that has the group health plan.76 Some studies have shown that interdisciplinary teams improve quality and reduce costs (Baldwin, 1996; Burl et al., 1998; Curley et al., 1998; McDonough and Doucette, 2001; Shortell, 1994; Wagner et al., 2001). Identifying or adding team members to achieve greater agreement with complex treatment protocols by providers and patients has improved outcomes for several chronic diseases (Wagner, 2000). Studies have also shown a link between better interaction between team members in intensive care units and reduced risk-adjusted length of stay (Shortell, 1994).