Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration
In the practice of Health Care Administration, there is an organizational hierarchy that is followed. This organizational hierarchy dictates the way duties and responsibilities are spread out over the vast number of job descriptions available at the healthcare center.Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration
Since these duties and responsibilities are given to specific healthcare providers and professionals, it is important that they all understand what the scope of their practice covers. Scope of practice, as defined by Joyce Mitchell and Lee Haroun in their textbook Introduction to Healthcare refers to a healthcare professional “understanding exactly what one is legally allowed to do in one’s profession.” Scope of practice defines the parameters by which a healthcare professional can perform certain procedures, actions, and details. Such duties are usually limited by the medical education and training that one receives both in the classroom and clinical experience. As such, the medical professional is expected to display a certain amount of competency as certified by the local state regulation exams and certifications.
The Healthcare Professions Council also defines scope of practice in terms of a statement of tasks. “Scope of practice statements describe in general terms what a profession does and how it does it. On the other hand, reserved acts, defined as those “tasks and services involving a significant risk of harm,” need to be restricted, and may only be performed by professions to whom they are, on a non-exclusive basis, assigned, and so long as those performing them are acting within the scope of practice of their profession.” As such, the scope of practice can vary from state to state although the general essence of the law remains constant in order for the public to understand the governing regulations pertaining to scope of practice.Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration
Due to the gravity of the responsibility attached to each medical practitioner’s position in the organization, it is very important for organizations and healthcare managers to specifically define and develop the responsibilities of each person who is a member of the medical staff. Each member must know exactly what duties, responsibilities, and functions are expected of him and one must never over step those boundaries.
