Joint Commission Case Study

1. The Joint Commission and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality developed standards and recommendations for healthcare organizations to employ in an effort to reduce the number of errors. In a few sentences, please discuss one recommendation.

According to the Oxford Dictionary consent is defined as ‘giving permission for something to happen or agreeing to do something’. They define confidentiality as ‘entrusted with private information and if something is intended to be kept secret or in confidence’ (Soanes and Hawker, 2005). As a healthcare professional consent and confidentiality are in place as protective vices, by gaining consent and keeping a patients confidentiality it protects both the patient and the healthcare professional. There are three types of consent: Verbal consent, consent in writing and implied consent. Depending on the situation each type of consent may not be acceptable. For example if a procedure is putting a patient at risk, is complex or invasive for example an operation, written consent is

Disclosing confidential patient information without patient consent can happen in the health care field quite often and is the basis for many cases brought against health care facilities. There are many ways confidential information gets into the wrong hands and this paper explores some of those ways and how that can be prevented.

165). The HIPAA regulations are set as a protection of Personal Health Information (PHI) and all of its areas of concern, i.e. – name, condition, symptoms, etc… Legally, the nurse is not subjected to any clearly defined healthcare related laws, at the federal level, liable under the Privacy Acts of 1974 which protects any personal identification records or information relating to the patient’s privacy. The nurse takes photographs of the patient’s demographic information from his electronic health record which violates the regulations set forth by the Privacy Acts of 1974 (Privacy Act of 1974, n.d.). In many aspects of this scenario, a major concern lies on the nurse’s ethical, unethical, practice. The American Nurses Association (ANA) delineates in Provision Three of the Code of Ethics for Nurses “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.” (ANA, 2015). The nurse is in many violations enough to end their career in this situation. The privacy of the patient is a right not a privilege. With the increase usage of social media, this invasion of privacy on the patient could potentially be leaked and could lead to jeopardizing the patient’s safety while in the hospital.

This information must be easy for the patient to understand and must also be correct and truthful (RCN 2013). The Department of Health define consent as allowing a capable individual to make their own decisions about their health care without being pressured into making any decisions from others such as friends, family and health care professionals. In the adult nursing field it is legal and ethical to gain valid consent before starting a medical procedure, or providing care. This shows that the individuals rights have been respected which is good practice. If a healthcare professional did not respect an individual’s choices they could be accountable to legal proceedings. In common law touching or performing an act of care on a patient without valid consent can be classed as a criminal offence or battery. If a healthcare professional was not following the legal practice regarding consent then the individual may be faced with a criminal offence and disciplinary action will take place (Dimond 2009). The Human Rights Act states that all healthcare professionals should never judge an individual on their sex, race, religion, social origin, language or any other status.

Three ways patient confidentiality is maintained in the reception/waiting area of a medical office could be: 1) Do not use the patients’ full name. Only the use of their first name or last name is needed. 2) Make sure that the computer screen in the reception area is not able to be seen by other patients. And make sure medical records are not kept out or open in view of others. 3) Make sure all staff conversations cannot be heard by others. Especially when a patients’ personal information could be overheard.

The roots of The Joint Commission began in the American College of Surgeons (ACS), founded in 1913, which eventually lead to voluntary onsite inspections of hospitals in 1918. In 1951, The American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the Canadian Medical Association joined forces with the ACS to create the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH). JCAH was formed as an independent, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose was to provide voluntary accreditation for meeting established minimum quality standards. It was not until 1970 that the standards of quality were reformed to represent the highest achievable levels, instead of minimum necessary levels. In 1987, the company was renamed the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which was shortened to today’s The Joint Commission after rebranding in 2007. (Stanberry, 2012)

Both the DNV and Joint Commission are organizations that conduct inspections and accreditations. Accreditations have an impact on the way hospitals operate only because a hospital makes critical decisions of how it treats diseases, assigns clinical staffing and stores its medications.

In the scenario discussed the nurse working makes numerous decisions that put both her and her patient at risk. She violates the patient’s privacy not only by taking pictures of him while unconscious, but also by sending them to her friend as well as taking pictures of the patient’s demographics. According to the HIPAA standards, any unauthorized disclosure of private patient information, is a breach of the Privacy Rule (HHS, n.d). It would be a completely different story if the nurse were to have asked the patient once he had recovered if she could take a picture and had gotten his authorization. However, that is not the case and the nurse, if caught, could face penalties. Not only is the nurse violating the patient’s privacy, she is also violating

Sandra, most hospitals have their own reporting systems in place when reporting abuse/neglect within the hospital, but if a person wants to go outside of the hospital to make a formal complaint they have that right, too. One place that will follow through on a complaint is the Joint Commission, formerly called the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, or JCAHO is a private, non-profit group that acts as a national accrediting organization for a great number of hospitals in the country. The Joint Commission reviews all quality of care complaints. It does not investigate issues associated with hospital bills or other financial

As you well mention the Joint Commission not only evaluates the services of the hospitals but also the ones of other centers that offer the care of the patient, whether ambulatory care, home care and mental health institutions. This is good because when the patient is referred to one of these services we can have a piece of mind because if they are accredited we know that the service they provide are of quality. According to Hebda & Czar “the Joint Commission introduced new emergency management standards for hospitals, long-term care facilities, and behavioral health and ambulatory care that focus on the concept of community involvement in the management process” 2013, p.449. The goals of the commission are directed to watch for the care

But when those involved in these legitimate activities make demands that seem inappropriate, the records must be protected. Disclosure of personal medical information should also be subject to patients’ or families’ consent (Richmond et al. 2009).

The main focus of the article is to look at the absolute value of patients’ confidentiality. Blightman et al. look at the pros and cones of breaking patient’s confidentiality and conclude that a breached of confidentiality is in order when it is necessary to obtain consent, as required by law, or when it is in the best interest of the public. The article is useful to my subject, since it examines in details the main issues involving the safeguard of patients’ information. In addition, the authors define confidential information, looks at breaching confidentiality for consent, audits, protection of children, disclosure to family and friends, statutory disclosure, prevention of crime, public interest, public safety, public health, and disclosure to the media. The paper publication is Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain, which s a joint publication of the British Journal of Anaesthesia and The Royal College of Anaesthetists in the UK. It is also the official journal of The Faculty of Pain Medicine and The College of Anaesthetists of Ireland. Publication in such an esteemed journal requires utterly scrutinized of reliability and credibility of the information provided. I found the article educational and thorough in its coverage of aspects of breach of patient information. It is also well written and easy to understand.

Consent can be quite tricky, a legal minefield for healthcare teams, this is due to the patients who will give or refuse to give private information about themselves who is legally competent but

The confidentiality of patient visits and medical records are essential in providing the highest quality of health care. Under penalty of law, a patient's medical records or any other information regarding the patient may only be released with his or her authorization. Exceptions to this are certain cases specified by law for example, health care providers are required to report certain communicable diseases such as measles. Many organizations and laws have been developed to maintain patient's rights of confidentiality and access to their medical record. Guided by the principle that confidentiality is essential in developing strong trust between patients and healthcare providers, the