Reference no: EM132783072

PART I: Case Studies

Task 1.

Assume you are the manager of an outpatient clinic that is part of a larger health care system. Complaints from patients about your clinic have recently increased in frequency and intensity. Some of your patients have complained about long wait times in the reception area. Others have expressed responsibilities without additional help. They also complain that the receptionists keep transferring calls to them that the receptionists should handle.

The nurses are very upset with the secretaries who will not retrieve the patients' health records, which causes longer waiting time for patients. The nurses are also annoyed because the receptionists interrupt their work to ask questions. The physicians feel that they cannot do anything more because their days are very chaotic and they are stressed. They think the solution is to hire more front office staff.

Questions:

What performance improvement tool(s) would you use to identify all the possible reasons why patient complaints are increasing?

What performance improvement tool(s) would you use to gather information to confirm the actual reasons for patient complaints?

You think there may be more patient complaints on certain days of the week. What quantitative performance improvement tool(s) would you use to analyze this theory?

The front office staff and nurses tally information about the causes of patient complaints. What quantitative performance improvement tool(s) would you use to select the problem areas to work on first?

After redesigning the patient registration process, you want to monitor the effectiveness of your actions. What performance improvement tool(s) would you use to measure whether the number of patient complaints actually declines in the future?

Task 2.

Locate a state in which there is a statewide trauma program. Describe the levels of trauma care that can be provided in various facilities in the state. Are there requirements for those facilities that affect the trauma registry? What kinds of data are collected? Are the data limited to the treatment in the facility only? Describe any studies that have been published on the basis of the use of the trauma program in the state. Describe some key outcomes of trauma treatment that are measured.

PART II: Essays

1. Give two examples of acceptable redisclosures of health information. Please provide sample situations in which each of these may occur.

2. Describe one safeguard that should be in place to protect the confidentiality of health information when a health care organization uses a home-based medical transcriptionist and one safeguard that should be in place to protect the security of that health information.

3. List at least two parties, in addition to the health information management professional, who should be involved in developing a health care facility's policy on disclosure of health information to the press. Justify the inclusion of these individuals.

4. Can you ignore a subpoena or a subpoena duces tecum that is clearly defective, in that some key aspect is missing? Explain your answer.

5. Is health information always admissible as evidence in court? Explain your answer.

6. Should patients always have access to their own health information? Explain your answer.

7. List and briefly explain the four elements of negligence. Explain the significance of the order of elements.

8. Assume that in a medical malpractice trial alleging that a sponge was left in a surgical site, exactly 50% of the evidence favors the defendant surgeon and 50% favors the plaintiff. Who is likely to win the case and why?

9. Assume that at a medical malpractice trial alleging postoperative infection, exactly 50% of the evidence favors the plaintiff and 50% of the evidence favors the defendant physician and hospital. Among the defendant's evidence is some indication that the patient did not comply with postoperative care instructions, including taking antibiotics to fight infection. Who is likely to win the case and why?

10. Assume that an employee of a hospital's health information management department inappropriately released confidential information to a patient's employer. The patient is suing for breach of confidentiality. List all the parties who could be held liable for this breach and explain why you have listed them.