CREDIT: 3 Hours INSTRUCTOR: Ruby Marshall, RHIA, CHP, CCS
SECTION NUMBER: 101 CALL NUMBER: 31962
CLASS HOURS: T & R 12:00-1:20 (day class)
T & R 5:00–6:20 (evening class) OFFICE HOURS: M—R 2:00–4:30 PM
OFFICE NUMBER: MC 344 OFFICE PHONE: 595-7074
CLASSROOM: MC 311 EMAIL ADDRESS:
TO CONTACT The program directorName: Sandra Smith, RHIA, CCS
Office: MP 318
Phone: 595-7201
/ TO CONTACT THE DIVISION OFFICEDivision Name: Allied Health Services
Associate Dean: Suzanne Reese, PT, MS
Division Office Number: MP 458
Division Phone Number: 595-7002
PRE-REQUISITES FOR THIS COURSE
HIT 1114 Introduction to Health Information Management
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The focus of this course is on legal issues affecting health information. It provides exposure to the American legal system, legal terminology, case studies, and statutes with practical application of these principles and concepts to medical records. Confidentiality and access to medical information is also addressed. Other topics examined include: informed consent, response to subpoenas, admissibility, discoverability, negligence, liability, living wills, and organ donations. Lecture 3 hours. No laboratory. Prerequisite: HIT 1114, with a grade of "C" or above.
NEXT COURSE(S) IN SEQUENCE:
None.
TEXTBOOKS & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL:
Fundamentals of Law for Health Informatics and Information Management, Brodnik, McCain, Rinehart-Thompson and Reynolds; Second Edition.
GENERAL EDUCATION GOAL STATEMENT:
The General Education Goals are designed to ensure that graduates of Tulsa Community College have the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to carry them successfully through their work and their personal lives. General Education Goals relevant to this course include Critical Thinking.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After reading chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4, studying handouts, and attending class lectures, the student will correctly answer multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding: the sources of law, definitions of terms specific to Codes of ethics, custodian of health records, the legal health record, ownership, common law, branches of government, structure of court systems both federal, state and local, structure of DHHS, due process of law, supreme and trial courts, differentiate between substantive and procedural law, explain role of civil procedure and federal rules, describe parties to a lawsuit, explain e-Discovery, summarize steps in a trial, explain significance of health information as evidence, distinguish discoverability and admissibility, describe significance of subpoenas, give examples of evidence, describe hearsay, explain the principle of patient-provider privilege and discuss legal protections applied to incident reports and peer review records. Questions will be answered with at least 70% accuracy.
After reading chapters 5 and 6, studying handouts, and attending class lectures, the student will correctly answer multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding: definitions of terms specific to tort law and contract law, name the elements of negligence, analyze the concept of res ipsa loquitur, discuss invasion of privacy, breach of confidentiality, liability of the health information professional, articulate issues related to medical malpractice insurance, discuss healthcare corporations, advantages of a corporation, for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, responsibilities of the governing board, general principles of contracts and general principles of antitrust law. Questions will be answered with at least 70% accuracy.
After reading chapters 7, and 8 in Brodnik, studying handouts, and attending class lectures, the student will correctly answer multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding: types of consent, informed consent, advance directives, parties to consent, challenges to consents, types of consent forms; purposes of the health record, the legal health record, paper versus electronic health records, health record maintenance, content, and documentation requirements, maintaining a legally defensible health record, health record identification, retention and disposition. Questions will be answered with at least 70% accuracy.
After reading chapters 9, 10, and 11 in Brodnik, studying handouts, and attending class lectures, the student will correctly answer multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding: overview of HIPAA and other patient privacy laws, core privacy rule documents and the minimum necessary requirement, individual rights, other key requirements and penalties for noncompliance; purposes of the HIPAA security rule, sources of law, scope and anatomy of the security rule, history and comparison with existing laws, applicability, ensuring security compliance, key components of the security rule and security rule safeguards and requirements; internal and external security threats, human threats, natural and environment threats, identity theft, medical identity theft, security access and systems controls, contingency planning or disaster recovery planning and resources to assist with security threats and controls. Questions will be answered with at least 70% accuracy.
After reading chapters 12 and 13, studying handouts, and attending class lectures, the student will correctly answer multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding: ownership and control of the health record and health information, access to patient health information, highly sensitive health information, special access, request, and disclosure situations, managing the release of information process; disclosure without patient authorization or agreement for public health and benefit activities, preemption, notice of privacy practices, accounting of disclosures, common state reporting requirements, national reporting requirements and registries and disclosures to the public health authorities not required by law. Questions will be answered with at least 70% accuracy.
After reading Chapters 12 and 13, studying handouts, and attending class lectures, the student will correctly answer multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding risk management and quality improvement, describe the basic components of a risk management program, describe the role of QIOs in healthcare quality, identify key events in the history of risk management and key laws and standards related to healthcare quality. Discuss different quality improvement initiatives; identify the major laws that pertain to billing and reimbursement processes, describe examples of fraud and abuse, false claims, documentation in the health record that supports billing; design contents of training for employees to ensure they are compliant; describe elements of a Corporate Compliance Program. Explain ways that the HIM professional can help ensure organizational compliance. Questions will be answered with at least 70% accuracy.
After reading Chapter 15, studying handouts, and attending class lectures, the student will correctly answer multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding: fraud and abuse, major statutes, rules, and regulations, high-risk areas, role of the Office of Inspector General, Role of Department of Justice, coordinated federal fraud and abuse programs, Recovery Audit Contractor program, state enforcement efforts and corporate compliance programs.
Questions will be answered with at least 70% accuracy.
APPENDICES:
Appendix A: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Relevant to HIM, pg 375
Appendix B: Detailed Content of the Health Record, pg 381
Appendix C: State-by-state Review of Regulations Pertaining to Electronic Signature, pg 395
Appendix D: State Retention Laws, pg 403
Appendix E: Federal Record Retention Laws, pg 417
Appendix F: States with Laws/Regulations/Guidelines Pertaining to Facility Closure, pg 427
Appendix G: Sample Forms, pg 435
§ Notice of Privacy Practice
§ Consent to the Use and Disclosure of Health Information
§ Authorization to Use or Disclose Health Information
§ Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement (for employees)
Appendix H: Individual Rights Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, pg 443
Appendix I: Summary of State Health Privacy Laws, pg 445
Appendix J: State Legislature Web Sites, pg 451
Appendix K: Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration, pg 453
Appendix L: Subpoena Duces Tecum (Civil)
TEACHING METHODS:
Lectures, class discussions, textbook and journal article reading assignments, guest speakers, field trips, and slide and/or video programs when available and relevant. It is expected that each participant in the class will have a copy of the required text(s) and will have read the appropriate chapter(s) PRIOR to each class period. While the specific content of the text may often not be repeated during class time, the instructor’s perspectives on each topic will be used to augment the text. Participants should plan to raise questions before, during or after class to seek clarification of text material that was not fully understood, to gain additional information or to question discrepancies between textual content and information provided during class. The instructor reserves the right to revise the course outline as needed to allow more or less time for specific subjects, to add topics upon expression of interest by class participants, or to otherwise adjust the schedule to meet the mutually accepted needs of the instructor and the participants.
DISABILITY RESOURCES
It is the policy of Tulsa Community College to create inclusive learning environments. Accommodations for qualifying students in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are available. To request accommodations, contact the Education Access Center (EAC) at or call (918) 595-7125 (Voice). Deaf and hard of hearing students may text (918) 809-1864.
EVALUATION TECHNIQUES:
Students will earn their grade in this course by accumulating points from the following sources:
· Four (4) exams – Possible 100 points each
· Class Participation – 100 points
· Article Summaries/discussion 50 points each
· Final Paper and Presentation - 100 points
Points will be totaled and a grade assigned based on the following scale:
90 - 100% = A
80 - 89% = B
70 - 79% = C
60 - 69% = D
BELOW 60% = F
Students scoring below 70% on the first examination only may re-take the exam until competence is established by a grade of C. [With the re-take, 70% is the maximum possible score.]
Please keep track of your own grades. I will not calculate what you need on an assignment/exam to get a certain grade in the course. This is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to routinely check the Blackboard to see if your grade is posted and that it is posted correctly.
MAKE-UP AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS POLICY
You can submit a late homework assignment, but at a penalty of 50% of your grade. In other words, the maximum amount of points you can receive once the deadline has passed is 25 points for that particular assignment. Late homework assignments will not be accepted at all after one week of the deadline. In certain cases, you might not be penalized for late homework assignments if something occurs in accordance with university specified excused absences (e.g., you are sick, with a doctor’s note or hospitalized, you are out of town because of military deployment, you attended a funeral and have documentation). In all cases, I MUST be informed of your absence prior to the exam, AND I must receive documentation within one week of the absence. If you cannot reach me directly, please send me an email.
No make-up exam will be given unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor and the absence is excused. All make up exams must be taken within one week. (Note: No more than one makeup exam will be granted per semester unless a bona fide emergency.) Students will be required to make up exams by appointment only during the instructor’s office hours unless other arrangements are made.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Students are expected to attend all classes in which they are enrolled on a regular basis. Absences will affect your participation grade. (On 4th absence, participation points drop by 10 points per absence.)
In the event of an absence, the student is responsible for obtaining lecture notes and/or class assignments. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the instructor when an absence has occurred. The instructor will determine whether an absence is excused or unexcused and can initiate a withdrawal for non-attendance.
Excessive absences (six) will be reported and will be taken into account in calculating the students' final grade especially in borderline cases. Students receiving benefits from government agencies must adhere to the policies stipulated by the specific agency. Students will adhere to the Student Code of Responsibility and Conduct for Tulsa Community College.
INSTITUTIONAL STATEMENT
Each student is responsible for being aware of the information contained in the TCC Catalog, TCC Student Handbook, TCC Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook, and semester information listed in the Class Schedule.
FAILURE TO WITHDRAW POLICY
Failure to withdraw may result in the student’s receiving a regular grade of “F” at the end of the semester.
LEARNING SUPPORT SERVICES
There are none available on campus for this course.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
Plagiarism is claiming, indicating or implying that the ideas, sentences, or words of another writer are your own; it includes having another writer do work claimed to be your own, copying the work of another and presenting it as your own, or following the work of another as a guide to ideas and expression that are then presented as your own. The student should review the relevant sections of the TCC Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY OR MISCONDUCT
Academic dishonesty or misconduct is not condoned or tolerated on campuses within the Tulsa Community College system. Academic dishonesty is behavior in which a deliberately fraudulent misrepresentation is employed in an attempt to gain undeserved intellectual credit, either for oneself or for another. Academic misconduct is behavior that results in intellectual advantage obtained by violating specific standard, but without deliberate intent or use of fraudulent means. The student should review the relevant section of the TCC Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook.
COMPUTER SERVICES ACCEPTABLE USE
Access to computing resources is a privilege granted to all TCC faculty, staff, and students. Use of TCC computing resources is limited to purposes related to the College’s mission of education, research, and community service. Student use of technology is governed by the Computer Services Acceptable Use Statements/Standards found in the TCC Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook. These handbooks may be obtained by contacting any Student Activities or Dean of Student Services office. PERSONAL USE OF COMPUTERS DURING CLASS TIME IS UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR.
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE
Cell phones and other portable electronic devices should be turned off or placed in a silent mode while in the classroom. Students should not conduct personal conversations during class time. Please make appropriate arrangements for childcare, as children (any age) should not be brought to the classroom during class time. Finally, please make sure that all equipment (computer, monitor, transcription unit, etc.) is properly turned off prior to leaving the room and that you have cleaned up around your desk.