DISCUSSION

50 words minimum each response

R1

I had a hard time with this question. I'd like to believe that all, if not most, health care providers have very high empathy, which would cause them to be sensitive toward patients. However, many different people with different personalities become health providers, and laws and regulations provide boundaries for most people. I believe if left alone, healthcare professionals and other professionals would choose what is most convenient for them and not what is best for the patient. Rules like the "5 rights of medication" and HIPPA hold health providers to a standard that protects patients. 

Thinking about laws and regulations, how would the events that led to the discovery and experimentation with HeLa cells have been different if they occurred today? 

Today, the discovery of HeLa cells would have been very different. Current laws and regulations would prevent doctors from taking and/or sharing a patient's cell samples without consent. In the case of Henrietta Lacks, where the doctors did not receive permission before her death, they would have to request approval from her family.

R2

It is my opinion that laws and regulations protect patients in some instances; however, in the end it is truly up to the health professionals to execute this protection either way. Consider rules and regulations in any circumstance. Rules and regulations are present in almost everywhere; however, if they are not followed it is as if they do not exist. Likewise, if the rules or regulations are not in favor of the consumer or patient, it is up to the professional to make the decision to do what they feel is right no matter the consequence. According to "National Institutes of Health" (2022), HeLa cells were deemed “immortal”, and have played a major role in the research of terminal illnesses. Today, it is hard to say how people would react to such information, or if this information would even be made public knowledge if it began in this day and age with all of the discrepancies of what is considered a human right. According to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2022), a medical professional left a message on the voicemail of a patient’s daughter providing diagnosis and treatment information (para. Hospital Implements New Minimum Necessary Polices for Telephone Messages). While the average person may or may not think anything of it, there are way too many issues with what she did. The biggest is the possibility of the message being left on the wrong person’s phone, or was retrieved by the wrong person. No matter what, the information should be provided to the individual directly as voicemail is not the way to find out any type of medical information, especially when it’s negative. Taking the initiative to continue to make contact with the individual is better than risking sensitive information.

References

National Institutes of Health. (2022). Significant Research Advances Enabled by HeLa Cells. https://osp.od.nih.gov/scientific-sharing/hela-cells-timeline/.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2022). Health Information Privacy: All Case Examples. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/examples/all-cases/index.html. 

R3

I would say that laws and regulations do protect patients to a certain extent because, sometimes I have seen where the regulations have helped patients get the proper care or treatment that they need. The laws have protected patients as well by making sure that the patients are treated fairly when it comes to patient confidentiality. But on the other hand I have seen where the regulations were in place at a facility, but the residents were not treated as they should be by the staff. The owners did not do anything about this situation and just let these types of behaviors slide. So, for me I would lean more towards that they do help protect patients if all parties involved are willing to actually follow the laws and regulations. Health care professionals have also been involved in protecting patients because, when health care professionals and patients are working close together there becomes a bond of trust and health care professionals take an oath to always protect their patients. With the laws and regulation today, they would have to follow more intense protocols and have supervisors that they would have to answer to and report findings about the HeLa cells. The situation would have been approached in a different manner and the family would have been informed from start to finish which would have helped them understand the situation better.

R4

When it comes to writing health care law, what role do you think the health care industry plays and how does industry influence benefit from the role that they play in laws such as HIPAA and HITECH? Any thoughts?