HIT 420 - Legal Aspects of Health Info

1. Characterize the legal system and requirements which govern healthcare in the United States.
   1. Differentiate between public and private law and compare and contrast contract and tort law.
   2. Differentiate between the substantive and procedural aspects of criminal law.
   3. Describe the branches of governments and their roles in creating, administering and enforcing law.
   4. List and describe quasi-legal requirements to which health care organizations are subject.
   5. Compare subject matter jurisdiction between the federal and state court systems and differentiate between subject matter and personal jurisdiction
   6. Explain the basic differences between a trial and an appeal and identify the steps in a civil lawsuit.
   7. Distinguish among the different forms of discovery and explain the uniqueness of e-discovery and electronically stored information
   8. Differentiate between the types of alternative dispute resolution.
2. Examine the judicial process of health information.
   1. Define the following legal terms associated with the role of a health record in a lawsuit: evidence, admissible and hearsay and explain why health records are considered hearsay evidence.
   2. Explain how the health information professional establishes the foundation and trustworthiness requirements for admitting the health record into evidence
   3. Explain the use and application of the physician-patient privilege
   4. Discuss the differences among a subpoena, subpoena ad testifcandum and a subpoena duces tecum
   5. Compare a court order authorizing disclosure of health information and a subpoena
   6. Compare the three recommended responses of a health information professional to the presentation of a subpoena and assess the steps to take when presented with an invalid subpoena duces tecum.
3. Examine the principles of liability in healthcare and what constitutes ethics.
   1. Describe each of the following relationships: physician-patient, hospital-patient, and hospital-physician.
   2. Summarize theories of liability
   3. Explain defenses and limitations of liability.
   4. Differentiate between ethics, moral, values, etiquette, and law
   5. Discuss ethical concepts and theories and their applications to the health care field.
4. Explain ethical challenges and how to address them through ethical decision making
   1. Summarize the ethical decision making process.
   2. Describe the factors that influence the ethical decision-making process including code of ethics, patient rights and other factors that play a role in resolving ethical dilemmas.
   3. Identify ethical challenges in general and their application to the roles of supervision, the field of health care and the specialized area of health information management.
5. Characterize the legal requirements governing the content, retention, and destruction of health information.
   1. Summarize the multiple functions and use of the medical record
   2. Identify and explain how the sources of law influence the content of the health record.
   3. Distinguish between authorship and authentication
   4. Differentiate between proper and improper methods for a health provider to correct the health record and the procedures used to comply with or refuse a patient’s request to correct the record.
   5. Identify factors influencing and the role a statute of limitations plays in a record retention policy
   6. Explain appropriate record destruction and the importance of keeping permanent evidence of a record’s destruction.
6. Outline patient rights, confidentiality and access to health information pursuant to state and federal law.
   1. Explain the interrelationship between confidentiality and privacy and the three sources of law on which the right of privacy is based.
   2. Discuss open record statutes, privacy statutes and physician-patient privilege.
   3. Describe the types of restrictions that confidentiality statutes and ethical guidelines place on HIV/AIDS information.
   4. Explain informed consent and the scope of informed consent doctrine.
   5. Distinguish between advance directive, living will and durable power of attorney.
   6. Discuss the ownership of health information
   7. Explain the notice of use and disclosure of information practices, consent and authorization.
   8. Examine the rights of access of patients and third parties to patient-specific health information.
   9. Summarize the general principles of disclosure of health information including the core elements of a valid release of information form.
7. Examine specialized patient record disclosure of health information.
   1. Discuss regulations governing release of information of substance abuse treatment and the types of legal processes issues to access patient records.
   2. Examine regulations for mental health/developmental disability care records
   3. Explain regulations relating to home health and benefits and risks associated with genetic information.
   4. Examine regulations relating to HIV information voluntary, mandatory and anonymous testing.
8. Describe risk, quality, and utilization management and the legal bases and requirements for the programs.
   1. Explain how the three components of patient record requirements relate to risk management.
   2. Summarize the purpose and definition risk management and incident reports and the discovery and admissibility of incident reports.
   3. Discuss peer review privileges and medical staff disciplinary process within quality management.
   4. Describe the utilization review process.
9. Examine the legal issues associated with electronic health records as it relates to accreditation, licensure and liability
   1. Compare the three broad categories of laws and regulations governing the creation and storage of an electronic record including business record exception.
   2. Describe physical security, personnel security and risk prevention techniques covered under HIPAA security rule.
   3. Discuss the security issues associated with the use of the Internet and e-mail.
10. Explain health care fraud and abuse.
    1. Explain the meaning of fraud and abuse and the major laws supporting prosecution for it.
    2. Describe the roles of various law enforcement agencies in the prosecution of health care fraud and abuse.
    3. Explain the meaning of compliance and components of compliance programs.