Health Care Policy Laws & Ethics

POLICY ANALYSIS

Policy Analysis

Introduction

Organizational policy alignment and adherence to laws and regulations is critical for overall corporate compliance and to decrease organizational risks (patient falls, medication errors, cyber hacks and PHI data breaches, infection control, et cetera). In this assignment, you will select, evaluate, and update one health care provider’s policy related to a significant regulatory risk to the health care organization.

Instructions 

Select one of two options:

Option A

If you work for a hospital or health care organization you may select a policy that is of interest to you then follow these assignment instructions:

• Imagine you are a health care administrator at your current employer. Analyze the policy you selected, taking into consideration any recent changes. Evaluate what information and where that information would need to be updated. Propose revisions that are based on current identified standards and/or new guidelines that you have researched in the text or identified in other high-quality sources (that is, journals, government websites, and the like). Analyze the significance of the selected policy updates as it relates to potential litigation. (Why did the policy need updating? What threats do these changes help avoid?) Summarize your perspective on the revisions as well as any additional changes that should be considered. Present your work as an executive summary suitable for distribution to your organization’s board members.

Option B

If you do not work in the industry or do not have access to a health care policy, use the  Hahnemann Falls Policy to complete this assignment. Then follow these assignment instructions:

• As you can see, this policy was written in 2012. Now, imagine you are a health care administrator working at the health care organization where this policy originates from. Analyze the policy, taking into consideration the changes in HIPAA and PHI since 2012. Evaluate what information and where that information would need to be updated for a current revision of this document. Locate the areas where you would update or add information to this 2012 version. Propose revisions that are based on current identified standards and/or new guidelines that you have researched in the text or identified in other high-quality sources (that is, journals, government websites, and the like). Analyze the significance of the selected policy updates as it relates to potential litigation. (Why did the policy need updating? What threats do these changes help avoid?) Summarize your perspective on the revisions as well as any additional changes that should be considered. Present your work as an executive summary suitable for distribution to your organization’s board members.

Your paper should be 3–5 pages long and should include a title page and references for a total of 5–7 pages.

Strayer Writing Standards

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.

Grading Criteria

The grading criteria for this executive summary is as follows. It must include the elements listed below, so be sure to address each point. You may also want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion in the scoring guide to see how your work will be assessed:

1. Analyze a problematic or dated health care policy, explaining its primary purpose and effectiveness.


2. Determine the issues the selected policy poses as it is written and any related ramifications.


3. Research the changes needed to update and align the policy with current standards and guidelines.


4. Propose revisions that are based on current identified standards and/or new guidelines.


5. Analyze the significance of the selected policy updates as it relates to potential litigation.


6. Summarize personal perspective on the revisions as well as any additional changes that should be considered.


7. Meet clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting requirements.

ASSIGNMENT PREPARATION FOR WEEK 5

Your second assignment, Policy Analysis, is due at the end of Week 5. Spend some time this week reading the requirements and the scoring guide and begin working on the assignment if time allows.

To-Do Checklist

• Prepare:
  
  
  
  • Review the assignment instructions and rubric.
  
  
  • Read the following article: Policies and Procedures for Healthcare Organizations: A Risk Management Perspective.
  
  
  • If you are unfamiliar with health care policies, many hospitals and organizations have their policies posted online. Take some time to review how they are written:
    
    
    
    • Hospital Policies from the Washington Department of Health.
    
    
    • Human Resources: Policies and Handbooks from Johns Hopkins.
    
    
    • Policies and Guidelines from Mercy Hospital.
    
    
    • Online Terms of Use from Ochsner.
    
    
    • Policies and Procedures from NYC Health and Hospitals.
    
    
    • HIPAA Privacy and Security Plan [PDF] from Axis Community Health.