Discussion
Knowledge of the laws that govern your environment is essential for you as a health information management professional. You must know the abiding laws that govern your workplace and the legal implications for you, your coworkers, and your patients.
In this discussion, examine employment laws and how they apply to your workplace. Respond to the following:
• Evaluate the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discrimination employment laws impacting healthcare as they relate to the HIM professional.
• Assess the impact of at-will employment and how it can lead employers to use discriminatory practices.
• Compare laws in different states that address liability concepts (for example, negligence, malpractice, and breach), legal doctrines of confidentiality, consent, competency, privacy, autonomy, privileged communications (for example, physician/patient, attorney/client, and work product), duty to warn, or endangered person.
• Assess the role of the health record custodian and legal health record certification.
• Recommend management practices to develop and implement in daily activities to abide by these standards. You may consider these practices in reference to your own workplace.