PHS - Ch. 8: Prof. Knowledge in TS (Slides 1-12)

PHS - Ch. 8: Professional Knowledge in Therapeutic Services

1: Organizational Systems
2. Legal and Ethical Issues
3. Healthcare Teams
4. Credentials
5. Scope of Practice
6. Malpractice

Warm-Up

• What ethical and safety challenges might be involved in healthcare? 

• What are some legal issues that healthcare workers need to know about?

• What can you do to ensure that your interactions with patients are ethical, legal, and safe?

Organizational Systems in Healthcare

An organizational chart is a visual representation of the hierarchy, or levels of authority

• An organizational chart represents the levels of responsibility and flow of information vertically within a department and horizontally between different departments

• The hierarchy helps healthcare workers understand who is responsible for different jobs and to whom they should report

• Medical workers report to those directly above them in lines of authority, or chain of command

Healthcare Teams

• Departments work together to provide care as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team

• A Primary care team includes doctors, nurses, and other health professionals

• Secondary care is provided by specialists through a referral

• Patients are part of the care team and make the final decisions about their care

Reporting

• Care teams share information through written reports as well as oral reports

• Reports are needed during handoffs when a patient is being transferred to a new healthcare worker

• Use the IDEAL method for handoffs

Think Further

The Joint Commission, which reviews the quality of care in healthcare organizations, identified handoffs as a key time when medical errors occur. Why do you think this is so? Explain.

What can you do to reduce errors made during patient handoffs?

Multiple Choice

What is the primary purpose of an organizational chart in healthcare?

• To display patient information

• To represent levels of authority and responsibility

• To show financial data

• To list medical staff qualifications

Multiple Choice

Why is the IDEAL method important for patient handoffs?

• To ensure all necessary information is communicated

• To reduce the time it takes to complete the handoff

• To make the handoff more convenient for healthcare workers

• To improve bedside manner during the handoff

Legal and Ethical Issues for Therapeutic Workers

• Workers are limited by their scope of practice, which describes tasks they are allowed to perform based on their education or credentials

• Credentials may include a license, certificate, or similar document earned through a professional organization

Legal and Ethical Issues for Therapeutic Workers

• Therapeutic workers are likely to be exposed to issues of patient rights, informed consent, and mandatory reporting

• Mandatory Reporting: The legal requirement for certain health issues to be reported to authorities.

Credentials

• Licensure

  • Required by law for some professions

  • Managed by each state’s department of health

  • Renewing usually includes completion of continuing education units (CEUs)

• Certification

  • Voluntary credential created by a professional association

• Registry

  • Employers can check this to ensure that employee credentials are up to date

Scope of Practice

• Includes all the skills healthcare workers are trained in and allowed to use

• The higher you climb up your career ladder, the more skills you will learn and the broader your scope of practice will be

Critical Thinking

Explain how a healthcare worker is limited to his or her scope of practice.

• A healthcare worker can be liable (legally responsible) for not performing tasks within his or her scope of practice. 

• A healthcare worker is also liable if he or she performs tasks that are outside his or her scope of practice.

• A healthcare worker must not be allowed to complete procedures he or she is not qualified to do.

Malpractice

Actions that violate a professional’s scope of practice or standard of care and result in injury to a patient that could have been reasonably expected

• Most malpractice is caused by negligence, which is an unintentional failure to complete duties of care

• Malpractice cases are typically a matter of civil law

• Patients may bring a civil suit against a physician

Multiple Choice

What is the primary focus of mandatory reporting in healthcare?

• To report patient satisfaction

• To report cases of abuse

• To report financial discrepancies

• To report staff performance

Multiple Choice

What is the primary cause of most malpractice cases against healthcare workers?

• Intentional misconduct

• Gross negligence

• Lack of credentials

• Unintentional errors

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of malpractice?

• A doctor forgetting to wash their hands

• A nurse administering the wrong medication

• A patient refusing treatment

• A healthcare worker reporting unsafe conditions

Multiple Choice

How are healthcare workers typically limited by their scope of practice?

• They can only perform tasks they are trained and allowed to do

• They must obtain approval from administrators for all tasks

• They are prohibited from working overtime hours

• They can only treat patients within a certain geographic area