Meeting of the Board of Regents | December 2009

Summary

Issue for Discussion

The notification of the Department of Health and licensed professionals working in nursing homes of disciplinary actions taken by the Board of Regents against health care professionals employed by such facilities.

Reason(s) for Consideration

For information.

Proposed Handling

This item is being presented for discussion for the December 2009 meeting of the Professional Practice Committee.

Background Information

The Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) investigates a significant number of allegations of professional misconduct relative to care provided by licensed professionals in nursing homes. The Professional Practice Committee has noted that licensees are cited for certain recurring types of misconduct on a regular basis and has suggested that misconduct in nursing homes might be reduced if the facilities were made aware on a formal and consistent basis of the misconduct findings. Currently the only feedback provided to nursing homes is in the situation where an individual nursing home follows up on a complaint it has filed with OPD.

One potential vehicle for disseminating disciplinary actions for misconduct that takes place in nursing homes is through a quarterly communication to the Office of Health Systems Management of the Department Health which has regulatory authority over nursing homes. The communication would include the type of misconduct (i.e. medication error, recordkeeping etc.) and the facility where the misconduct occurred. The primary goal would be to provide information to the nursing homes and thereby raise their awareness of systematic problems that can be corrected, such as staffing shortages and inadequate medication protocols. The communication would also serve to identify chronic offenders that that may require additional oversight by the Office of Health Systems Management. If nursing homes are provided with specific information regarding the type and frequency of misconduct occurring in such facilities, they will be in a position to change procedures, eliminate errors and improve the quality of care.

Another approach under consideration is a communication through the Office of the Professions web site directed at licensed professionals working in nursing homes. This communication would have the dual purpose of advising the health care workers of the common actions which lead to disciplinary actions and reminding them that, notwithstanding any institutional problems which may exist, the individual professional remains responsible for his or her actions.

Timetable for Implementation

It is anticipated the first quarterly communication to the Department of Health could be ready by March 1, 2010.