Contemporary Issues in Healthcare Law and Ethics / Edition 4

by Dean Harris

Overview

Instructor Resources: Test bank, PowerPoint slides for each chapter and a model answer to each of the activities in the text.

Contemporary Issues in Healthcare Law and Ethics, Fourth Edition, examines the most important legal and ethical issues in healthcare, and presents essential information that will help students learn to identify and tackle potential legal problems.

This thoroughly revised edition includes new information and extensive updates on topics such as:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), including legal requirements about health insurance and health reform The 2012 Supreme Court decision regarding the individual mandate to buy health insurance, the penalty for not having insurance, and the expansion of Medicaid Ongoing legal challenges to mandated contraceptive coverage and whether federal subsidies may be provided for coverage that is purchased through a federally operated exchange New legal obligations for tax-exempt hospitals under the ACA and federal regulations Important changes to Medicare and Medicaid Other changes to laws about abortion, physician-assisted suicide, privacy of medical information, and reform of medical malpractice laws.

New to this edition are more activities that apply legal principles in the text to specific facts. Also, an in-text glossary has been added.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781567936377
Publisher:	Health Administration Press
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Series:	AUPHA/HAP Book
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	434
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Dean M. Harris, JD, is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. At UNC, he teaches courses on health law, ethics, and comparative health systems. He received his BA degree from Cornell University in 1973, and received his JD degree with high honors from UNC School of Law in 1981. In addition, Professor Harris is a licensed attorney. He practiced law from 1981 to 1999, with a primary focus on representation of healthcare organizations and providers.

Books published by Health Administration Press:

Contemporary Issues in Healthcare Law and Ethics, Fourth Edition

Table of Contents

List of Exhibits xiii

List of Activities xv

Preface to the Fourth Edition xvii

Acknowledgments xxi

Part I The Role of Law in the US Healthcare System

1 Using the Law to Promote Our Policy Goals and Ethical Principles 3

"There Ought to Be a Law!" 3

Ethics in the Healthcare Field 5

The Relationship Between Law and Ethics 6

The Goals of This Book 9

2 The American Legal System 13

Who Makes the Laws, and Who Changes the Laws? 13

Substantive Areas of Law 17

State and Federal Court Systems 19

The Process of a Civil Lawsuit 22

3 How to Conduct Legal Research 31

Understanding Legal Citation Form 32

How to Find Legal Materials in the Most Efficient Way 36

Conclusion 40

Part II Managing and Regulating The Healthcare System

4 The Legal Structure and Governance of Healthcare Organizations 45

Healthcare Providers as Legal Entities 46

Trends in Change of Ownership 60

5 Government Regulation of Public Health and Healthcare Services 67

Government Regulation to Protect the Public Health 69

Government Regulation for Quality of Care 71

Government Regulation for Cost Containment and Access 80

6 Protecting the Privacy of Medical Information 97

State Laws on Privacy of Patient Information 99

Federal Law and the HIPAA Privacy Rule 102

7 Medical Staff Membership and Clinical Privileges 127

The Relationship Between Physicians and Hospitals 128

The Organized Medical Staff 131

Denial or Termination of Membership and Privileges 134

Judicial Review of Credentialing Decisions 146

8 The Law Of Government Payment Programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and Fraud and Abuse 151

Medicare 151

Medicaid 159

The State Children's Health Insurance Program 165

Fraud and Abuse of Medicare and Medicaid 166

Compliance Programs for Healthcare Providers 182

9 Antitrust Law in Healthcare 197

The Federal Antitrust Laws 199

Specific Areas of Antitrust Concern in Healthcare 207

Conclusion 221

Part III Patient Care Issues

10 The Law of Tort Liability 229

The Tort of Negligence 230

Imposing Negligence Liability on the Institution or Organization 231

Malpractice in the Context of Cost Containment and Managed Care 240

Informed Consent 241

Proposals for Medical Malpractice Reform 247

11 Legal and Ethical Obligations to Provide Care 261

Traditional Common-Law Rules for Doctors and Hospitals 262

The COBRA Antidumping Law (EMTALA) 264

Prohibitions Against Discrimination 275

12 Legal and Ethical Issues in Termination or Refusal of Care and Physician-Assisted Suicide 283

The Right to Refuse Treatment 284

The Right to a Natural Death 291

Physician-Assisted Suicide 298

13 Reproductive Health 317

Sterilization 318

Contraception and Abortion 321

Emergency Contraception 331

Maternal-Fetal Conflict 333

Part IV Legal and Ethical Issues in Cost Containment, Health Insurance, and Health Reform

14 Legal Issues in Healthcare Cost Containment 343

Selective Contracting with Providers 344

Financial Incentives to Provide Less Care 348

Controlling Utilization of Healthcare Services 353

Legal Liability for Improper Denial of Claims 355

The Statutory Language of ERISA 360

The Alternative Approach of External Review 364

15 Legal Issues in Health Insurance and Health Reform 375

State Regulation and Reforms 376

Federal Regulation and Reforms Before 2010 378

The 2010 Federal Affordable Care Act 380

Glossary 403

Index 409

About the Author 439

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Kayla M Kostelecky, JD (Saint Louis University)
Description: This book describes the major legal aspects of healthcare management, patient care, and health reform. This current and relevant update incorporates the significant changes in healthcare law since the 2007 edition.
Purpose: The primary objective is to provide readers with the background legal knowledge necessary to identify potential liabilities in the healthcare setting. It also asserts an objective of encouraging normative reflection. A nuanced treatment of the relationship between healthcare law and ethics is a needed resource for practitioners as they reconcile medical practice with personal conscience, administrators as they formulate and pursue institutional goals and policy, and policymakers invested in healthcare reform.
Audience: Intended for healthcare professionals and administrators, the book assumes a readership without legal training. It presents legal material in accessible terms and includes features designed to facilitate an understanding of the legal system, including general discussions of the litigation process and regulatory framework.
Features: As a broad overview of the major legal issues impacting healthcare, the book is generally successful in attending to relevant details while being concise. It familiarizes readers with federal and state law and discusses significant case law. In addition to a chapter devoted to health insurance and health reform, the book as a whole is updated to account for the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Supreme Court's decision regarding its constitutionality. It includes visual representations, definitions of terms in the margins, and application activities that support comprehension. Although the book acknowledges the distinction between ethics and law, it neglects a discussion of ethics itself, limiting ethical considerations to a few sentences in each chapter.
Assessment: Although this is an excellent overview of healthcare law for administrators and providers, it does not adequately engage ethics. It is recommended for readers interested in a broad introduction to legal issues in healthcare management and patient care. However, it may disappoint readers seeking a serious discussion of ethics in healthcare.

Doody's Review Service