Class offered in 2008
Class to begin in September 14, 2009
Beginning this fall Plymouth State University will be offering a online class
for health care professionals aimed at gaining awareness of health care and its
laws.
The university's College of Graduate Studies is introducing Health Care Law
and Ethics as part of a four-course graduate certificate in health care
administration. Constance Morrison, who will be teaching the class, said
that the main emphasis will be to spread the knowledge of how the laws work and
host a forum for people to express their thoughts.
The class is designed specifically for health care professionals. The course
will be taught by Morrison, who is an attorney that also holds a
doctorate in nursing practice, an MBA, and is a nurse practitioner and an
attorney.
Morrison's background and expertise allows her to lead discussions in areas
including the legal system in the United States; the impact of state and federal
regulatory bodies on legal and ethical issues; tort law; contract and anti-trust
issues; personal, managerial and corporate liability; managed care; nursing law;
medical staff issues; issues of consent; information management and health care
records; reporting requirements; organ donation and transplantation; patient
rights; malpractice insurance; labor relations; employment law; and risk
reduction.
The course will focus on the principles and theories of law and ethics in
relation to health care delivery. It also touches upon law as it relates to
health care management and administration, examination of the application of
laws in relation to health care liability and risks facing administrators,
managers and practitioners, and providing a foundation in analyzing ethical
dilemmas.
"It is critical that all health care professionals have an intimate knowledge of
the law as it relates to their profession," Morrison said. "In this day and age,
I can't imagine working in this industry without it."
The class is being offered because the health care industry is one of the
largest parts of the global economy, she said. In 2004, America's total health
care bill came to $1.8 trillion which is about $6,400 per person, she said, and
in 10 years, this amount is expected to rise to $11,000 per person annually.
While rising costs are among the top issues, others like new medical
technologies, medicines and ethical dilemmas are constantly implemented in the
health care industry. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine generated a report
indicating that up to 98,000 deaths were caused annually in the United States by
medical error, and that report raised awareness of a critical issue that had
gone unnoticed for years.
Morrison said awareness is key in the field of health care. One issue she will
touch on in her class will be when malpractice suits become criminal cases. She
explained that every day there are more and more cases that would formerly be
due to negligence that become criminal cases.
"The intent is to teach the class knowledge of what to do in various
situations," said Morrison. "This includes rights, risks and benefits."
She will emphasize that medical work should be about keeping patients safe. She
said people have to remember that doctors went to school to help humanity.
Therefore, most of the time the standard of care is met, she said.
"I use a forward-looking approach with this course," Morrison said. "By
including risk management strategies my colleagues will be better equipped to be
proactive and anticipate potential issues in their workplace versus having to be
reactive and dealing with matters that many times could have been avoided."
Morrison said she recently gave a presentation to nurse practitioners from N.H.
regarding some of the subjects the class will cover. Following the presentation
she conducted a survey asking if the participants thought the information was
relevant to issues that had been presented, and asked if they had made changes
to their practice due to what they had learned. The result was that 88 percent
felt the information was vital and said they made changes in areas such as
documentation and communication, among others.
Morrison added that the online format of the course creates an excellent student
experience.
"I am able to communicate with students both collectively and individually in a
way that enhances their experience," Morrison said. "The course content is
self-contained so people will be equipped to apply these risk management
principles upon completion of the course."
The course begins on Sept. 10. For additional information about the Health Care
Administration program contact Craig Zamzow at 535-3020 or visit
www.plymouth.edu/graduate.