In this week’s discussion preparation, you were asked to analyze the state legislative reporting requirements and then use metacomprehension to identify the criminal and civil risks to health care professionals for failing to report certain incidents. Provide examples of legal case law to support your response.

this is the student response ….Andra Branscumb

RE: Week 7 Discussion

1. A variety of legal reporting requirements are mandated by both federal and state regulatory agencies. To prepare for the discussion this week, analyze the state legislative reporting requirements. Then, use meta-comprehension to identify the criminal and civil risks to health care professionals for failing to report certain incidents (Chapter 18, pages 503–512). You will need to provide examples of legal case law to support your analysis.

There are several ways to report patient safety incidents, abuse, neglect, or violations of one’s privileges and licenses. The article: Reasons for not reporting patient safety incidents in general practice: A Qualitative Study, mentions the initial interest in the need to report incidents that he occurs in a primary care clinic. This is a true sentiment in almost every health care setting, the health care professionals see the need to report adverse incidents in order to make evidence-based changes but due to the time constraints of filling out an incident report, many incidents go unreported or under reported. We all know the need for incidents to be reported but honestly do we want to take the extra 15-20 minutes out of your already hectic workday to fill the incident report out. If there was no real harm to the patient do, we really want to complete a report? My employer has made it much easier, in the last three years, to complete an incident report. We have a template that list several different possible scenarios that the incident may involve, all we do is click and include the patient’s demographics. I appreciate the fact that there is no blame involved, this is really a way to look at ways to improve patient care and safety.

Then there is the mandatory reporting of maltreatment of children and the elderly that health care professionals are required implement into their practice. Whether it is child abuse or elder abuse, health care workers must report any “suspected” abuse. The criminal and civil risks for health care professionals lie not in good faith reporting in suspected incidents of child abuse, but rather in failing to report such incidents (Pozgar, G. 2019 p. 503). Penalties for not reporting suspected abuse can be in the form of fines, jail, revocation of licenses, or all three. There are also penalties for making false reports of abuse. Our text mentions that elder abuse is least likely to be reported then child abuse. The elderly individual being abused rather physically or financially may not report the incidents of abuse because they fear retaliation, being put in a home, or more intense abuse. Health care professionals need to become familiar with subtle signs and possibilities of abuse, not all indications of abuse are easily recognizable.

There is also the mandatory need to report actual or suspected cases of communicable diseases. The mandatory reporting of communicable diseases by clinicians is vital to the protection of society, for controlling and preventing the spread of communicable disease (Pozgar, G. 2019 p. 507).

Pozgar, G. (2019). Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration (13^th ed.). Burlington, MA Jones & Bartlett Learning.