20
fhea.com Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc., August 2015
the surgeon should perform the discharge service.
Furthermore, because federal Stark laws forbid hos-
pitals from providing nonmonetary compensation
with a value of greater than $292 per year to each
physician not employed by the hospital, one could
argue that a hospital that routinely assigns a hospi-
tal-employed NP to provide discharge day services
for a self-employed physician may soon exceed the
$292 limit. Therefore, for many reasons, it is impor-
tant for hospital executives to analyze operations
and the law before assigning NPs to write discharge
orders.
•
*This case is on the Nurses Service Organization (NSO)
website at http://www.nso.com/risk- education/indi-
viduals/legal- case-study/Nurse-Discharge-without-He-
parin-Drug- order, which references Medical Malprac-
tice Verdicts, Settlements & Exper ts; Lewis Laska,
Editor.
C
arolyn Buppert is an attorney and
nurse practitioner whose law practice
focuses on the legal and business
issues affecting nurse practitioners and
their employers. Her website is
www.buppert.com .
References
1
. The Joint Commission. Addendum to Sentinel Event Alert #35,
Using medication reconciliation to prevent errors. Issue 35, January
25, 2006. www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/SEA_35.pdf. Ac-
cessed August 23, 2015.
2. Barnsteiner JH. Medication reconciliation. In Huges RG, ed.
Pa-
tient safety and quality: an evidence-based handbook for
nurses . AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043. Rockville, MD: Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality; March 2008. Chapter 38.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2648. Accessed August 23, 2015.
3. The Joint Commission. National Patient Safety Goals Effective Jan-
uary 1, 2015. Hospital Accreditation Program. Introduction to recon-
ciling medication information. Pages 5-6. www.jointcommission.org/
assets/1/6/2015_NPSG_HAP.pdf. Accessed August 23, 2015.
4. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Physician self referral.
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Fraud-and-Abuse/Physician
SelfReferral/index.html?redirect=/PhysicianSelfReferral/95_
Getting Ready for the
NP Certification Exam
A free 75-minute presentation:
Available Online On Demand
or Live Webinar:
September 1, 2015 8
PM EDT
December 15, 2015 8 PM EST
•
Join Dr. Margaret A. Fitzgerald for a free
presentation on certification exam preparation
and comparisons between the exams
•
Learn the best practices for preparing for
certification
•
Find out what to expect on the exams
•
Designed for NP students, recent NP grads,
and practicing NPs who are not certified
View at Online On Demand
or attend the Live Webinar
Enhance Your
Prescribing Skills
FHEA Offers of the Month
10% off in September
Uncommon Drug Reactions:
The Zebra in Your Office
Best of the $4 Drugs: Optimizing
Your Choice of the Least Costly
Generics
Offers end September 30, 2015
Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc.
Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc.
Avoiding Malpractice: A Case Analysis