Laws that control healthcare come from four sources. One source is state and federal
written constitutions.
�Identify and explain the three other sources of laws that control healthcare.
Part II
.
Prepare a paper that answers the questions and meets the criteria below. Here are the four
- Why We Make Mistakes
- Local Culture and Safety culture
- Assessment of Safety Culture
- A Fair and Just Culture
1.Explain the central idea of each of the four areas.
2.Which of the four do you feel is the most important and why?
3.What does it mean to be accountable?
4.What does �hindsight bias� mean?
SLP Assignment Expectations
1.Limit your responses to a maximum of 1 page for Part I and three pages for Part II, not
including title and reference list pages.
2.Be sure to utilize at least 3-4 scholarly references to support your discussions.
3.Be sure to properly cite your references within the text of your assignment and listed at the
end.
Legal Aspects SLP Module 1
LEGAL ASPECTS SLP MODULE 1 2
Introduction
This paper intends to discuss legal aspects. The paper will address two parts of the legal
aspects.
Part I
Sources of laws used in controlling health care
The first source of laws used in controlling health care is regulations shaped by agencies
mandated with administration such as the United States Food and Drug Administration agency
(“Case in Health Care Management”, 2014). The agency is responsible for protecting the public
in the United States from being sold; unsafe foods, hazardous drugs, perilous medical devices,
precarious cosmetics, along with various other hazardous products. Thus, annually the FDA is
responsible for regulating more than $1 trillion products, which is equal to one-fourth of the
entire spending by United States consumers (Mead, 2014). The FDA also gives protection to
patients’ rights along with patients’ safety regarding clinical trials in reference to innovative
medical products. Furthermore, FDA monitors how drug promotional activities are conducted by
device manufacturers, and also regulates how packaged foods are labeled. Additionally, FDA
monitors how safe the country’s blood supply is (Mead, 2014).
The second source of laws used in controlling health care is rulings made in court. The
courts are responsible for examining whether proposed policies are aimed at achieving the health
interests of the public (Rowe, 2012). Thus, the courts should give a clear definition of the
proposed policies and their purpose. Furthermore, courts should provide protection against biases
in making decisions, hence facilitating public debates. The third source of laws used in
LEGAL ASPECTS SLP MODULE 1 3
controlling health care is a common law. Notably, common law is influential in ensuring that
confidentiality is exercised between doctors and their patients (Rowe, 2012).
Part II
The fundamental idea why people make mistakes
People make mistakes due to possession of a poor insight regarding the things they do
well, along with the things they do poorly. Thus, if an individual had an enhanced insight then it
is likely that they will do more things that they formerly did as opposed to the things they did
later. Additionally, people make mistakes due to the deprivation of sleep or being unhappy.
Other people make mistakes due to over-optimism, which provides them with a sham judgment
of confidence (“Case in Health Care Management”, 2014). Furthermore, when an individual
relies on their memory, they are more likely to make mistakes since memory is meant to be for
reconstruction as opposed to reproduction.
The fundamental idea of local culture along with safety culture
In any organization, acts that are based on the approach of improving the safety of
patients are referred as safety culture. However, improving the safety of patients involves
identification of the history of the practice, recognition of leadership, appreciation of staff
experience and working within available budget concerns, which all constitute to local culture.
Thus, the local culture is responsible for setting appropriate behavior or fostering unsafe
behavior within the workplace (“Case in Health Care Management”, 2014). Furthermore, local
culture is responsible for guiding staff decisions on different questions.
The fundamental idea of assessment on safety culture
LEGAL ASPECTS SLP MODULE 1 4
When assessing safety culture the first step involved is to evaluate the safety culture
being practiced at the time. Currently, two existing organizations conduct assessments on safety
culture through offering questionnaires to be used in utilization, evaluation, and an indication of
a baseline for practicing a culture of patient safety (“Case in Health Care Management”, 2014).
The two organizations are AHRQ which stands for Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
while the other organization is the University of Texas’s Center of Excellence for Patient Safety
Research and Practice (Rowe, 2012).
The fundamental idea of a fair culture and a just culture
A fair culture involves the examination and understanding of the tolerance level involved
in open communication, management of trust and maintenance of trust, along with the handling
of errors through leadership (“Case in Health Care Management”, 2014). Moreover, staff
members are likely to perform best when they are in an environment which is blame-free. Thus,
in order to create a culture which is just, management of practice is expected to reorganize the
disciplinary process (Mead, 2014).
Which among the four areas above is most important?
The most important area of the four areas is local culture along with safety culture.
Notably, the local culture determines how an organization conducts its operations. The local
culture determines the way an organization is accustomed to conducting its operations from a
historical perspective. Thus, it is easier to identify and acknowledge any existing errors in
operations being conducted by an organization (“Case in Health Care Management”, 2014).
Consequently, all organizations that acknowledge local culture gain the advantage of carrying
out effective plans for a safety culture. A safety culture will, therefore, involve plans that
LEGAL ASPECTS SLP MODULE 1 5
necessitate the involvement of employees in developing new plans for conducting operations in
the organization.
What being accountable means
Being accountable implies making commitments and stretching to achieve the
commitments. Exercising accountability implies understanding the fact that agreeing to do
something on a given day translates to making an assurance (“Case in Health Care
Management”, 2014). In most cases, the assurance is made to the boss of an institution, the
coworkers of the individual giving an assurance, or customers to the individual giving an
assurance (Office, 2015). Accountability thus involves not having any groundwork regarding
failure. Hence, an individual who is accountable always proposes methods of recovering when
any plan goes wrong. Additionally, an individual who is accountable does not blame other
people for mistakes that occur.
Meaning of hindsight bias
Hindsight bias refers to an inclination that a given event may have been predictable
before it occurred, despite nonexistence of a basis of prediction. Thus, the assumption by
hindsight bias is that a person finds it simple to discern the appropriate way to react when an
incident happen, though it is challenging to appropriately foretell the future (Office, 2015).
Furthermore, hindsight bias involves judging things after they already happen. Therefore,
hindsight bias has the possibility of causing memory distortion, in which recollection along with
reconstruction of substances may result in false speculative outcomes.
Conclusion
LEGAL ASPECTS SLP MODULE 1 6
Legal Aspects provide a platform for efficient operation of activities conducted within
different institutions. The essay above has conclusively discussed legal aspects. First, the essay
has pointed up three sources of laws that are used in controlling health care. The three sources
are agencies that make regulations, rulings made in court, and the common law. Furthermore, the
essay has demonstrated fundamental ideas regarding why people make mistakes, fundamental
ideas of local culture along with safety culture, the fundamental idea of assessment on safety
culture and the fundamental idea of a fair culture and a just culture.
LEGAL ASPECTS SLP MODULE 1 7
References
Case in Health Care Management. (2014). The Health Care Manager, 33(3), 227-229.
Mead, J. (2014). Healthcare and Law Digest. Clinical Risk, 20(3), 76-80.
Office, L. (2015). Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Laws in 2014. Laws, 4(1), 16-17.
Rowe, S. (2012). Explaining the laws of unplanned care. British Journal Of Healthcare
Management, 18(4), 192-197.