Importance of Laws and Ethics in Life Sciences
Life sciences hold great importance in our lives. This is because it deals with the health of the people. In other words, it is called medical health. Health practitioners in this field should know the health laws and ethical concerns to save the lives of people. A minute mistake in life sciences can put the patient’s life at stake. All the people that come into this profession take the oath that they will not harm any patient. In developed countries, these laws are strictly followed. However in developing countries, we can see many malpractices. Therefore developed countries should share the practices with developing countries so that they make people abide by these rules. To learn the implementation of these laws, legal translation services are of great help.
Do you know that all the degrees related to healthcare administration in the USA teach students about the intricacies of medical law and ethics? Moreover, they direct the students about how to comply with these rules. Additionally, it equips the students with the required knowledge and skills so that they can run their healthcare organization ethically and by complaining about the laws.
Let’s have a look at some of the healthcare laws and their implications.
HIPAA
HIPAA is the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996. It is a federal law that is created according to national standards to protect sensitive patient issues so that they cannot be disclosed without the patient’s consent. The US Department of Health and Human Services HSS has issued this rule to work according to the requirements of HIPAA. It not only deals with the data security of patients. However, it also takes into consideration the insurance continuity if someone changes or loses their job. In addition, it mitigates healthcare fraud and lowers the limited coverage rejections because of certain conditions.
To understand the wider scope and complexities of HIPAA, It is taught in the MBA Healthcare Administration so that healthcare organizations can easily comply with them. To implement these rules in other countries, you must take the assistance of life sciences translation services.
False Claims Act
The False claims act is a federal law. It deals with the crime and falsity of any person or organization that provides false claims to federal healthcare program or any program that provide health benefits through insurance or by any state healthcare system. On the other hand, this act authorizes non-governmental individuals or entities to file lawsuits and get recovery from the government. In addition to federal law, the US government has also adopted similar types of laws under the Michigan Medicaid False Claims Act (MMFCA). This law is designed to prevent fraud and conspiracies in different healthcare programs. A few examples of false claims are claiming the amount of the service more than once
Stark Law
The Stark Law is also called the physician self-referral rule. This law is related to former U.S. Representative Pete Stark of California. He introduced the physician’s ethics bill in the late 1980s. This law evolved with time. In those days, healthcare services were provided on a fee-for-service basis which is about paying a fee-for-service basis which is a predetermined amount. In short, the fee-for-service healthcare delivery system focuses more on the number of patients and procedures despite the health goals achieved by the organization. The Stark Law deals with physician referrals for clinical laboratory services that involve a variety of provider types and health services
Anti-Kickback Statute
Breaking the Stark Law is not considered a criminal offense. However, if you don’t comply with the Anti-Kickback statute then it is considered a crime. Therefore, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and administrators must be aware of this statute. Knowing the difference between the two technical translation services can be of great help. This federal law restricts the payments that physicians get from any referrals. These payments and remuneration include cash from lavish rooms in the hotel. This law often deals with false claims.
Reducing Kickbacks in Recovery Act
The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) is just like Aniti-Kickback Statute. It deals with illegal kickbacks that refer patients for abusive treatment in clinical treatments and laboratories. The main difference between Kickbacks and Recovery Act is that the Anti-Kickback statute is applied when payment is funded by Federally funded health insurance programs whereas EKRA is applied in situations where both federal and commercial insurance programs are included. Although this law was introduced in 2018 still it confuses many people because of the lack of information on interpreting the law.
Wrapping Up
The above-mentioned are a few laws and ethical guidelines that healthcare practitioners must follow. For this purpose, many healthcare organizations hire healthcare administrative professionals so that they can abide by these laws. If these administrators are not hired then doctors will spend time understanding these laws, instead of focusing on treatment and medicine. Developing countries must understand these laws by taking the assistance of professional translation agencies and try to implement them in their countries according to their medical healthcare system to provide state-of-the-art healthcare services to their citizens.
