I am excited to explore a career in healthcare administration after the completion of my MBA. For my entire life I have worked in healthcare, and for as long as I have been aware a profession in healthcare is all I have ever been interested in. When I started college in my late 20’s I felt way behind in comparison to my peers, although I knew so much more about myself and what I truly desired from a future career. I knew a career in dentistry would fuel my passion to help others, but I also knew becoming a dental hygienist would not be the “thing” that I do where I truly feel I am giving back or making a true difference. Becoming a doctor was not appealing, due to the nature of the profession, especially the legal aspects. I feel I am adding a wealth of knowledge while researching the healthcare laws and how they specifically impact healthcare in general. Anyone who has worked in a dental setting knows there is quite a separation between dentists and regular physicians. There have even been traditional doctors, let’s say primary care providers who would argue a dentist is not a doctor. Well, the truth is a dentist is a doctor too. Many of these laws are ones I was not familiar with prior to starting my MBA program. I see daily how much doctors/providers rely on their administrative team to guide them legally, financially, and professionally. As a future healthcare administrator, I value the education provided in this course because it serves as a foundation in getting to know the laws in more detail. As a leader another responsibility would be to employ regular meetings to educate staff members on the most current hospital/facility rules and procedures.
During the course of my training in becoming a registered dental hygienist, the laws we were the most familiar with was HIPAA. HIPAA seems like the law that monopolized my mind during the entire three-year program. I cannot say my knowledge of healthcare laws was taught in enough depth since some did not apply to dental directly, such as emergency care protocol in a hospital setting (EMTALA). A majority of dental offices do not accept Medicaid; however, I have worked in a private practice office who did. Becoming aware of the relationships shared between providers and other institutions is important so you can properly mitigate risks prior to a violation if caught and corrected early on. It is possible individuals are unknowingly breaking healthcare laws. Regardless the reason, it is our duty and due diligence to know the law as it pertains to our specific duties and to keep the staff on the ‘same page’ at all times. I like to think of any form of learning as an introduction towards learning more about a topic. Learning is lifelong, and we must be able to adapt and stay current with healthcare law, technology, and practices to facilitate a more inclusive and collaborative approach to treating the ‘whole person’ and not just the ‘parts’.
This journal reflection blog will provide insight on the topics of how healthcare law has evolved over time and the importance of educating ourselves and our employees on the rights and benefits available to them. These topics will include:
- Federal and State Laws affecting healthcare
- Anti-kickback Statute and Stark Laws
- The Affordable Care Act (ACA) impact on patients and healthcare delivery systems
- Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), and the patient-physician relationship
- Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and The Joint Commission (TJC)
- Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on healthcare system and healthcare staffing
- Human Resources (HR) legal and ethical environment
- Legal issues in the workplace
- Challenges HR may face when staffing healthcare organizations
- Labor union impact on HR management
- Strategies to improve overall workforce performance
- Employee benefit packages