An Overview of Healthcare Law

In today's litigious society it is imperative that the medical staff services and provider credentialing professional be familiar with the legal implications of his or her role. The practitioner appointment and reappointment process has increasingly become a source of legal liability for healthcare organizations. If a healthcare institution fails to recruit, appoint, supervise and retain practitioners, there is a great probability that it will become involved in liability cases, which can greatly impact the facility's accreditation, licensure and reimbursement eligibility.

This Course presents a broad overview of the American legal system and legal terminology, and discusses landmark cases in the healthcare industry specific to the medical staff.

Entry-Level Standards To qualify for enrollment, the student must provide proof of high school graduation (i.e., copy of high school transcript or diploma, GED certificate or college transcript or diploma).

Prerequisites: None

Texts and Other Reference Materials

Text:  NAMSS Independent Study Course 5

Recommended References:  (The following references were used in the development of this course and may be helpful tools to the student.  However, they are not required reading in order to complete the course.)

1. Chapter Topics
• Lesson 1 The American Legal System
• Lesson 2 Tort Law
• Lesson 3 Hospital Liability
• Lesson 4 Practitioners' Liability
• Lesson 5 Health Care Ethics
• Lesson 6 The Medical Record
• Lesson 7 Legal Aspects of Peer Review
2. Course Objectives

Upon completion of this module the student should be able to:

1. Describe the United States legal system.
2. Identify the sources of law regulating healthcare in the United States.
3. Define terminology associated with healthcare law.
4. Identify the steps in preparing for a trial.
5. Define tort law and identify the type of cases that are torts.
6. Describe areas for which a healthcare provider is liable.
7. Identify landmark cases in healthcare.
8. Describe the elements of due process and application of due process to medical staff activities.
9. Define the contents of the medical record.
10. Describe the role of the medical record in legal activities.
11. Discuss the legal aspects of peer review activities.
3. Instructional Processes
Students have three months to complete each course offered through the ISP. The entire NAMSS ISP usually takes 15 months to complete. Each course offers 45 hours of NAMSS Continuing Education Units (CEU) at the completion of each course.
4. Expectations For Student Performance
Prior to beginning the course, students should familiarize themselves with the course design by reviewing the syllabus, the interactive capabilities such as the discussion board and contact information for the Course Leader and Executive Office. The Course Leader is available to students with questions regarding content and the Executive Office can be contacted with questions/comments about student accounts.

Internet Access

Students should have access to a computer with internet connection to complete reading material, quizzes and a two hour multiple choice exam.

Time Management

Students are given three months to complete the course. Students should set interim goals and deadlines to complete the course within the given timeframe. Students unable to complete the course within the given timeframe may request a three month extension for $50.00.
5. Evaluation
Quizzes At the end of each section, there is a quiz to emphasize the learning objectives of that section. Students are encouraged to take the quizzes as many times as needed. The quizzes are marked for completion only and the score is not recorded.

Course Exam

At the end of Course 5, there is a multiple choice exam of 50 questions. The student must earn a passing grade (80% of questions answered correctly), within three attempts. Should a student fail the initial exam, a $50 fee will be assessed for the second attempt. The student will have 30 days to complete the second exam.

The student will be responsible for obtaining a qualified proctor to supervise the examination. The proctor cannot be a current enrollee in the NAMSS ISP, a co-worker in the same department or a relative of the student. An example of an appropriate proctor would be someone from the staff development or staff education department.

Grading Scale: 93-100 A; 87-92 B; 80-86 C; less than 80 is a failing grade.

6. Policies
The student should refer to the contract signed at the time of enrollment in the NAMSS ISP for applicable policies.