Law and Health Care System Administration

Assignment 1

Law and Health Care System Administration

Justify your position about the importance of the physician-patient and hospital-patient relationships.

The relationships of the physician -patient and hospital-patient are both extremely important and equally impact the health of the patient as well as the success of the hospital and physician. The physician-patient relationship is the center of health care due to the fact that one of the main aspects of a patient's care is his/her discussion with the physician (Goold, 1999). In the past, patients had to rely solely on the directions and information provided by the physician in order to make important health care decisions. Patients were also limited in their access to health care facilities as well as hospitals. In today's society this is not the case because most patients have the ability to seek second opinions, research alternate conditions/treatments, as well as rate physician care/hospital services through social media on the internet. A cancer patient in TN may travel to TX to receive treatment from a specific specialist and/or a highly recommended facility. Since the dynamics of the physician-patient and hospital-patient has changed, the relationship has changed but its importance has not. Therefore, it is essential that both the physician and the hospital facility itself have a good rapport with the patient in an effort to continuously build the relationship. A poor relationship between the patient and the hospital and/or physician could compromise the ability of the patient to trust the physician's assessment and possibly lead to misdiagnosis and improper treatment.

Since the physician-patient is entered to with the consent of both parties, there are some cases where doctors can refuse to provide services to clients. This is could be due to several factors. For example, a gynecologist may refuse to accept male clients. The hospital-patient relationship is a little different because in order for a hospital to remain competitive it has to continuously build and sustain relationships with patients. As a hospital administrator making certain that the expectations and needs of patients are met should be one of the top priorities expressed to all hospital employees and professionals.

Determine how contract principle and breach of warranty apply to the health care setting.

The contract between the physician-patient relationships can be implied or stated. Either way, the patient pays for treatment from the physician and the physician is responsible for diagnosing and treating the patient within the guidelines of appropriate medical standards. If a doctor does not provide the expected results/treatment, a breach of contract or warranty may arise (Proving Fault in Medical Malpractice Cases, 2013). For example, if a patient sees a plastic surgeon in order to have a specific nose job and the nose she was promised is not the nose she was given; the patient may attempt to recover damages under the theory of breach of contract. Another example where contract principle and breach of warranty may come into play in a healthcare setting is in the case of defective products such as orthopedic implants. Although in the majority of lawsuits the fault for defective implants does not extend to the surgeons installing the product, there are a few jurisdictions in which the claims can include providers/surgeons if they made claims on the quality of the implants (Bal, 2011).

In terms of contract obligations, both doctors and patients can voluntarily terminate their contracts. A doctor can send a patient a certified letter notifying him/her of the termination date of the contract and a patient is not obligated to follow a doctor's orders.

Analyze the four (4) elements of proof necessary for a plaintiff to prove negligence.

Four elements of proof necessary for a plaintiff to prove negligence are as follows: legal duty of care establishment, breach of legal duty of care, establishing that breach of legal duty of care caused injury, and proof of damages as a