In the recent past, governments through the health department have been calling for the increase in outpatient services among health care facilities considering that payers have come up with incentives as a way of reducing hospitalization charges in addition to the length of stay. As a result, a new shift oriented towards payment for performance and accountability in health care provision has emerged in addition to health organizations concentrating on medicine for preventive health, educating of patients, and care changes. Today, the most affordable medical therapy is offered in ambulatory care setting, yet the outcomes of adverse drug events in addition to wrongful diagnosis and usage of drugs can be devastating. However, the role that ambulatory medical clinics play in the society today cannot be downplayed considering that they are an important component of any complete healthcare facility as they attract a large number of population. It is vital that health care providers enlighten themselves on the regulatory requirements for establishing an ambulatory care clinic and carry out an evaluation on the effect of legal needs on the establishment of organizational health care regulations associated to building design for outpatient clinic among others for quality service delivery.
Outpatient health care accreditation is clearly described in the various states regulations in addition to federal laws as a way of recognizing their service, which means agreeing to license the accredited institutions, certify them in addition to precise contractions aspects by state. In the state of California, the senate Bill 100 requires certification corporations to conduct queries on the medical board of California regarding any contrary certification decision applied against medical entrepreneurs of a company applying for accreditation. For, ambulatory health care centers that were offered certification by other certifying corporations, the subsequent certifying agency is required to find out that earlier omissions were corrected . Moreover, the state also mandates the medical board to place on its notice board various survey reports regarding certification agencies, but this requirement has been insufficiently met considering that board is still in the process of collecting this information. In Florida State, one cannot make an ambulatory facility public unless the center has been awarded an operational license and those applying for such certifications need to have a present project being reviewed to make sure it complies with the right building codes. In terms of renewing the license, ambulatory health care centers are required to submit the renewal request together with the chargeable fees to the agency one hundred and twenty to sixty days before the date of expiry. According to the federal regulations, all the ambulatory health care centers need to be certified in order to offer services to the public and the building that health care intends to use also needs to be inspected to ensure that is conforms to the state regulations.
Various legal requirements have been put in place by both the state and the federal government regarding the establishment of structural health care policies, but these regulations pose a number of effects on the structural design for the ambulatory care clinics. These legal requirements are impacting the operation of ambulatory facilities considering that they are required to invest a lot of money in order to establish facilities that of the right standards. As the cost of establishing these facilities is rising, ambulatory health facilities find themselves in situations where they have to compete for both staff and patients. In that, the design of a health facility is normally identified as an integral tool that helps to attract and retain the best doctors among other staff members while patient’s decision or choices are made based on the affordability of the services being offered, its accessibility, and the quality of services (Barton, 2009). Regulations regarding the issuing of certificates where the issuing body has to certify the state of the facility is also an additional pressure on the design of ambulatory facilities considering that the management or owners will have to ensure that the needs are met at the expense of aspects like offering quality services once the opening has been accomplished.
Firms and persons running ambulatory health facilities are accountable and liable for various issues within the facilities with the example of making sure that the right diagnoses are made in addition to giving patients the right medicines. Ambulatory care clinic organizations are accountable for all the medications that the patients are put on in addition to being liable for all the adverse drug events that have occurred within the facilities. The main reason for adverse drug events that occurs mainly within ambulatory facilities has been described as the poor understanding between patients and health staff in terms of the manner in which information is shared, the beliefs of the patients and decision making among other factors (Hughes, 2008). The safety of all the staff is also a liability if the organization running the ambulatory considering that patients and staff members need to operate in an environment that is free from harm. Accountability and liability on the quality of services being offered is also bestowed on the persons or firms in charge of an ambulatory clinic considering that patients need to access services that are acceptable in terms of the set regulations.
Ethical and legal issues may arise in the design for an outpatient health care facilities considering that malpractices may lead to the organization being sued because of an injury related surgery or a doctor carried out a deliberate activity that resulted to harm on a patient. Informed consent is also a legal issue within an outpatient clinic considering that patients need give their approval in case of various practices like when going preparing to go through a surgery. In certain situations, ethical considerations come in; hence, forming a conflict with the legal requirements with the example of doctors feeling obligated not to disclose the health condition of a teenager to the parents but ethically reconsidering the decision. The other ethical issues within outpatient facilities is related to the establishment of relationships which is restricted in accordance to the code of ethics; hence, a nurse or a doctor going against that code may risk losing his or her operation license.
In conclusion, most affordable medical therapy is offered in ambulatory care setting, yet the outcomes of adverse drug events in addition to wrongful diagnosis and usage of drugs can be devastating. Outpatient health care accreditation is clearly described in the various states regulations in addition to federal laws as a way of recognizing their service with the example of state of California that requires certification corporations to conduct queries on the medical board of California regarding any contrary certification decision applied against medical entrepreneurs of a company applying for accreditation. Regulations regarding the issuing of certificates where the issuing body has to certify the state of the facility is also an additional pressure on the design of ambulatory facilities considering that the management or owners will have to ensure that the needs are met at the expense of aspects like offering quality services once the opening has been accomplished.
References
Barton, A. (2009). Patient safety and quality: an evidence-based handbook for nurses. AORN Journal, 90(4), 601-602.
Carr, R. F. (2014, october 22). Health Care Facilities. Retrieved from Whole Building Design Guide : https://www.wbdg.org/design/health_care.php
Hughes, R. (Ed.). (2008). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses (Vol. 3). Rockville MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
