HA525 Unit 5 Discussion
Physician Issues
IN NOT LESS THAN 200 WORDS DISCUSS using as references:
Title: The Law of Healthcare Administration
Edition: 8th (2017)
Author: Showalter
Publisher: Health Administration Press Book
ISBN: 978-1567938760
Chapter 8: “Medical Staff Privileges and Peer Review”
ALSO
Inside Health Law The following article
Haines, S., Ammann, R., Beehrle-Hobbs, D., & Groppi, J. (2010). Protected professional practice evaluation: A continuous quality-improvement process. American Journal Of Health-System Pharmacy, 67(22), 1933–1940.
You are the CEO of Acme Hospital, a small rural facility. On your staff, there is a physician (OB-GYN), Dr. Thomas Cole, with whom you have been having some problems.
Dr. Cole:
- does not finish his morning rounds on a regular basis
- does not attend medical staff meetings
- often very late in arriving to deliver babies
- most of the time, the nurses on duty in the delivery room deliver the majority of Dr. Cole’s babies
You know that these issues must be addressed but there are other connecting problems.
- First, Dr. Cole is the son of Dr. Frederick Cole who just retired after 55 years of service with Acme Hospital.
- “Dr. Fred” was much beloved among hospital staff and before he left, he used his charm and status to make certain staff members (you were not one) promise to help and to protect his son, the younger Cole.
You know that when you begin raising these issues there will likely be resistance to take any action.
Please discuss the following:
- What are the possible liability issues that the younger Dr. Cole is exposing the facility to?
- How would you manage the staff that promised to help the younger Dr. Cole?
- Would you approach the elder Dr. Cole? Why or why not?
- Is this a problem that can be “fixed”? If so, how can it be fixed? Are you willing to give the younger Dr. Cole the time to “fix” the issues as the CEO?
In two different paragraph with no less than 75 words give your personal opinion to Marivette Bedoya and Crystal Moore
Crystal Moore
The liability issues that Dr. T. Cole is exposing the facility to is unprofessional conduct and malpractice. Dr. T. Cole’s unprofessionalism is due to his excessive tardiness, incompletion of his duties, and failure to properly care for his patients.
As CEO of Acme Hospital I would facilitate a required 1:1 staff meeting, individually speaking with the staff to allow them a safe place to talk without prejudice. I would ask specific question regarding how they feel about Dr. T. Cole’s ability to safely care for their patients. Any of the the staffs information (such as name and details that could comprise their identity) would be strictly confidential and I would only use the details about Dr. T. Cole’s work ethic when presenting my case to the Medical Staff Organization.
I would not approach Dr. F. Cole because his son is an individual and works on his own. It is not the responsibility of Dr. T. Cole’s father to intervene. I would however approach Dr. T. Cole only after discussing matters with the Board. I would approach him because this type of behavior is not warranted for Acme Hospital and we will not allow it to continue. Acme Hospital has a reputation to uphold and that reputation is to provide exceptional quality of care to our patients. Dr. T. Cole has violated a myriad of issues and having the nurses deliver his patients for instance questions respondeat superior issues like jeopardizing the nurses licensure by placing them in a position to practice outside of their scope. According to Showalter, other respondeat superior issues in a hospital setting are but not limited to: licensure, credentialing, medical supervision, professional liability insurance, and health plan coverage (Showalter, 2017). Research has shown that higher infant mortality rates arise when there lacks an OB specialists during the birth of a child. The journal of Maternal and Child Health noted that in 2011, Georgia had the nations highest infant mortality rate due to a lack of OB specialists which forced nurses to advance their career and become certified mid-wives and yet complicated deliveries led to infant death (Spelke, 2016). This example proves how important it is for Dr. T. Cole to be present at the delivery of his patients and not rely on the nursing staff to follow through. The medical staff needs to work as a team allowing each individual to practice according to their level of education and training.
Yes, this is a problem that can be fixed. There will have to be an intervention with the Board, Dr. T. Cole and myself and these issues must cease to exist. I would be willing to give Dr. T. Cole a redemption period of 45-days in order to correct his issues and seek help if necessary. During this time Dr. T. Cole will be under a watchful eye and there will be a zero tolerance for any issues that occur. Any relapse during the 45-day probation period will result in immediate termination. After the 45-day period Dr. T. Cole must maintain this new work ethic and any relapses or new issues will be presented before the Board for review of his continued employment with Acme Hospital.
References
Showalter, J. S. (2017). The Law of Healthcare Administration (8th ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
Spelke, B., Zertuche, A. D., & Rochat, R. (2016). Obstetric Provider Maldistribution: Georgia, USA, 2011. Maternal And Child Health Journal, 20(7), 1333–1340.
Marivette Bedoya
The possible liability issues that the younger Dr. Cole is exposing the facility to would include the risk of the Acme Hospital to be involved in a negligent or malpractice legal proceedings. The reason being is because Dr. Cole is late for deliveries of expecting mothers causing the nurses to deliver the children. Resulting in nurses to carry out the responsibility of the physician when it is not their responsibility to do so. If something were to go wrong without a physician present, this event would reflect not only the poor quality of the nurse but also of the hospital and the leading physician (Dr. Cole).
Managing stand that promised to help the younger Dr. Cole can be challenging. However, I would start out by sending compliance memos. Each situation or case would be felt with individually. As time passes by and situation begin to appear and evidence appears that indicate staff members were protecting or covering for Dr. Cole, those staff members would receive disciplinary action and possible termination, if appropriate.
Personally, I would approach the elder Dr. Cole if the younger Dr. Cole does not get his act together after a given amount of time. The reason being for approaching the elder Dr. Cole is because maybe he can be of some influence to his son to be a proper and professional doctor, since his father has experience and wisdom. However, approaching the elder Dr. Cole can have some disadvantages. The elder Dr. Cole can possibly provide the wrong feedback to his son from what I would expect or maybe the lecture from the father may not influence the son at all.
Overall, this is a problem that can be fixed if the younger Dr. Cole is willing to abide by the rules and regulations of the facility. It can begin to be fixed by Dr. Cole arriving on time to patient delivery’s and being professional in all work areas. If it is not done properly and his actions continue to spiral out of control by not following the organization rules and regulations, then this issue can be fixed by terminating the doctor and replacing him with a more approbate professional. However, I would be willing to give Dr. Cole time to adequately adjust his behavior and way of thinking to better himself and the patients.
References:
Showalter, J. S. (2017). The law of healthcare administration. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
