Assignment 1: Legal Aspects of U.S. Health Care System Administration

Prevailing wisdom reinforces the fact that working in U.S. health care administration in the 21st Century requires knowledge of the various aspects of health laws as they apply to dealing with medical professionals. Further, because U.S. health care administrators have to potentially interact with many levels of professionals beyond the medical profession, it is prudent that they are aware of any federal, state, and local laws that may be applicable to their organizations. Thus, their conduct is also subject to the letter of the law. They must evaluate the quality of their professional interactions and be mindful of the implications and ramifications of their decisions.

You are employed as a top health administrator at the hypothetical Well Care Hospital in Happy Town. When you were hired, your pre-employment screening involved background checks into any violation of hospital medical misconduct during the last five (5) years. The results showed that you were in good standing with the hospital administration community. During the past year, you had to undergo training in personnel conduct, as well as in inter-employee conduct with medical staff, nurses, technologists, etc. During the past six (6) months, the hospital has been under scrutiny for breach of medical compliance.  

Note: You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

Write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you:

1. Articulate your position as the top administrator concerned about the importance of professional conduct within the health care setting. Justify your position.

2. Ascertain the major ramifications of having professional staff compromise the boundaries of ethics and medical conduct.

3. Analyze the four (4) elements required of a plaintiff to prove medical negligence.

4. Discuss the overarching duties of the health care governing board in mitigating the effects of medical non-compliance, as they apply to the rules of practice set forth in the Well Care Hospital governing board's manifesto.

5. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Describe the sources of law in America, the relative legal procedure, and the related court system.
• Examine the various applications of the law within the health care system.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in health care policy, law, and ethics.
• Write clearly and concisely about health care policy, law, and ethics using proper writing mechanics.