Reference no: EM133843898

Assignment:

Legal Aspects of Health Information

• What is the purpose of medical staff bylaws?
• Is a hospital required to have bylaws, and, if so, who requires it?

Credentialing refers to the process of reviewing and validating the qualifications (degrees, licenses, and other credentials) of physicians and other licensed practitioners for granting medical staff membership to provide patient services. List the steps in the credentialing process.

If disciplinary action must be taken against a medical staff member, how does the legal concept of due process apply?

Scenario

A clinical documentation improvement (CDI) specialist notices that one of the physicians from the GI lab is now performing procedures in the operating room. Although this may be appropriate, the CDI specialist has worked in the facility for several years and is not aware of any advanced training that would qualify this physician to perform procedures in the operating room.

• What should the CDI specialist do?
• What course of action should the facility take?
• What course of action should the medical staff office or medical executive committee take?

Scenario

The director of the health information management department hires a new medical coder who, based on an exam the medical coder candidate completed, has excellent coding skills. However, the director learns that the prospective employee is deaf. The medical coder communicates using sign language and at times has an interpreter with her. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provides that disabled employees must be able to perform the necessary functions of a job with "reasonable accommodations."

• Based on what you know of the law and the description of her skills, would you hire this coder?
• If the medical coder asked that an interpreter be available. Do you think that is a reasonable accommodation and if not, why not?