Health Care Laws and Regulations, Essay Example

Health care laws and regulations affect health care organizations at administrative and patient care levels. To compensate for this, health care organizations are constantly adapting to comply with newly passed laws and statutes. Issues resulting from changes in employment law are one example of how health care organizations are affected by changing regulation. Rules affecting employment can concern the number of employees hired, the minimum amount of pay, and guidelines determining who may be hired by the organization to fill which positions. (Waters, 2012)

State or Federal laws and regulations may be created that concern the number of employees hired, such as setting a minimum number of registered nurses or certified nurse’s assistants required to be on duty at all times. If the need for employees goes up, the increased financial burden for employee salary may be passed onto patients in the form of higher treatment and clinic costs. If the increase is too large and the organization cannot comply, they risk being shut down and the community loses a health care center.

Changes in laws and regulations concerning how much employees should be paid often address overtime pay. In the healthcare field, where employee shortages are a familiar occurrence, overtime hours are common. Legal changes identifying how often overtime may be given to employees, to which type of employee, and under what conditions overtime pay may be given can cause problems in scheduling and hiring departments.

Legal changes concerning the criteria and guidelines for determining hiring requirements for certain positions within a health care organization can also be problematic. These legal changes often address licensing and certification criteria, particularly continuing education requirements. If current staff members fail to stay abreast of these changes and comply with continuing education requirements, a facility’s license can be revoked. (LawOnline, 2012) Again, this causes the loss of valued health care organizations within communities.

References

LawOnline. (2012). What employment laws have the most impact on health care organizations? Retrieved July 31, 2012, from LawOnline: www.lawonlines.com/business-law/174925.html

Waters, I. (2012). How Do Changes in Employment Laws Affect the Health Care Organization? Retrieved July 31, 2012, from eHow Money: http://www.ehow.com/facts_7623234_do-affect-health-care-organization.html