Research Paper Example: Hospital Federal Regulation

A code of federal regulation refers to the laws and the permanent rules which are also at times referred to as administrative law. The executive departments usually publish the rules and also agencies of the United States federal government in the Federal Register. The hospital's Readmission Reduction program was established under the Affordable Care Act in the year 2012.It helps in not only reduction of costs but also the provision of high-quality services. A hospital faces a given penalty if it is found to have a higher than the expected 30-day readmission which is risk-standardized concerning heart failure, pneumonia and acute myocardial. A hospital that gives Medicare services to their patients must meet the requirements that are contained in the Social Security Act Section 1861 so as to help in ensuring the safety and also the health of those receiving services from a hospital is maintained. It was on this basis that it led to the Conditions of Participation which laid down a set of regulations that hospitals should follow to maintain minimum health and safety standards. With the authority of the Social Security Act, hospitals are automatically seen to meet the health and safety requirements for participation if Joint Commission accredits them on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or also the American Osteopathic Association. The three federal regulations to be looked at that are contained in the Conditions of Participation and Accreditation are the medical record services, nursing services, and the laboratory services regulations (United States, 1990).

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According to the federal law, a hospital is expected to maintain its records regarding the number of patients that visited it and the type of disease that the patients were suffering. The hospital should have enough personnel to work in that department so as to ensure that the records are well and neatly filled and they can be easily retrieved. The hospital should also ensure that it maintains its records regarding all their outpatients and also in patients. According to this regulation, the record should be retained for at least five years in their original form and if they are reproduced it should be a reproduction that is legal. The hospital should also ensure the confidentiality of the patients records and that their records are not altered in any way. The records should have all the required content. It should contain information regarding the patients admission and the progress of the patient which should be well dated. The keeping of records is of positive impact on the Reduction Readmission project because it helps to measure the performance of the hospital through the checking of the 30-day readmission measures which are portrayed in the hospital's records. It helps in determining the amount of penalty that is to be faced by a given hospital as the registers assist in calculating the excess readmission ratio. Through the records, the management of a hospital can know which disease is common in people of a certain age and special attention given to them so as to reduce the chances of them being readmitted again.

The other federal regulation pertaining a hospital is nursing services. A hospital is supposed to have efficient nursing services that are in operation in a 24 hours systems. It will have a great impact which will be considered to be positive on the Reduction Readmission project. It is because with nurses who are professional and skilled they will ensure that they take care of the patients well and administer to them the right medication without failure while in the hospital. The nurses will also ensure that they note the progress of the patient on whether he is improving or not. This will reduce the chances of the patient getting readmitted again once discharged from the hospital. The nurses can teach the in patients on how to take the medication while alone before they are released from the hospital (American Nurses Association, 1999).

The third federal regulation as contained in the condition of participation is laboratory services. A hospital should maintain and have enough laboratory services so as to be in a position of meeting the needs of all their patients. The emergency laboratory services should be available to the patient on a 24- hours basis. Those working in the lab should be experienced and skilled so as to know the specimen that is needed while checking for a given disease. It, in turn, will have a positive impact on the reduction readmission project since the laboratory results will provide the actual illness that the patient is suffering from and also prevent the patient being treated and taking medication for an illness that he do not have. Laboratory tests also help to show if the patient is improving or not so as to know the treatment that he should undertake next to improve his condition. It helps reduce the chances of chances of that patient being readmitted again since the disease will be correctly treated (United States & United States, 1900).

Pertinent Federal Laws and Regulation

The clean water act of 1972 helps in protecting the wetlands indirectly. It advocates for the water to be protected in a quality manner. It helps to maintain and restore the biological state of the water in a nation. It has an impact on the reduction readmission project as the patients use water that is not contaminated and hence has fewer chances of having diseases that are caused by contaminated water such as cholera. It helps reduce the possibility of a patient getting readmitted to a hospital.

Clean air act of 1972 requires any organization in a Nation that engages in activities that cause air pollution should comply with the federal states law of the requirements that are supposed to be undertaken so as to control that air-pollution. It has a great impact on the reduction readmission project because it helps reduce the number of diseases that could be caused by such pollution. The air pollution could affect an individuals lungs which could cause difficulty in breathing. With the help of this regulation such diseases are reduced, and hence the number of patients who are admitted to a hospital concerning such diseases are few.

The Federal insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide Act is a pertinent regulation that helps in ensuring that enough registration is done about the insecticide and fungicide. It also ensures that they are well labeled and how they should be stored and the best way they should be disposed after use. It helps people to know the precautions that they are supposed to take while using the insecticides, rodenticide, and the fungicide. It helps reduce cases of human poisoning while handling these types of chemicals. This regulation has a positive impact on the reduction readmission project as the number of patients who are to be admitted will tend to decrease and also the number of patients visiting the hospitals as a result of poisoning by such chemicals will be relatively small.

Accreditation helps to measure the quality of services that are offered by in our hospital. It helps the patients to be able to decide if the hospital is in a position of treating a particular disease. Accreditation enables the management of the hospital to know the areas that require improvement and the areas that are doing well. It leads to the enhancement of the patients safety level. These accreditations and regulations help the hospital to be committed to maintaining its standards, to contain its costs and also ensure that the patients receive services that are of high quality and that they are well protected. It also ensures that the nurses rights are protected, and those working in the hospital their lives are not at risk, and they are given protective gears to use such as gloves (Walshe, 2003).

In my future roles as an administrator, I will integrate regulatory and accrediting considerations by first ensuring that am aware of the costs that are involved and the effect of the regulations and accreditation on the organization. As an administrator, I should make sure that after the changes have been implemented, they benefit the organization or the hospital at large. The changes that will be the most cost-effective should be given the priority first. As the administrator, I will ensure that mistakes are quickly and efficiently corrected through ensuring there is enough monitoring and also evaluation of the services being offered to the patients. I will also involve professional and the actual nurses as well as other physicians who will deal with new rules and guidelines after undertaking a training program. It will help them give high-quality services which will, in turn, lead to the satisfaction of the patient's or clients needs which is of great benefit on the role of the regulation and accreditation. It will also help in improving the standards of the organization.

In conclusion, regulation and accreditation can be considered as a great solution for improving the quality of services that are offered in a hospital as well as in other organizations. It helps in increasing the safety of the patients and also ensures that environmental activities that are carried out they do not put and individuals life at risk.

References

American Nurses Association. (1999). nursing quality indicators: Guide for implementation. Washington, DC: American Nurses Association (600 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington D.C. 20024-2571.

United States. (1990). Code of federal regulations: Title 25. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration.

United States, & United States. (1900). Code of federal regulations: 34. Washington: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration.

United States, United States, & United States. (1983). Reducing the deficit, spending and revenue options. Washington, D.C.: The Office.

Walshe, K. (2003). Regulating Healthcare: A Prescription for Improvement? State of Health Series. Open University Press.