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Promoting Clinician Resilience: Ensuring Effective Support after Adverse Events

• Patricia McCotter, RN, JD, CPHRM, CPC, Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company, Seattle, Washington

Patricia_Mccotter_1.pdf
Patricia_Mccotter_2.pdf
Patricia_Mccotter_3.pdf 

Current patient safety research demonstrates a significant human cost to adverse events. In a recent study, 90% of physicians felt that their health care organization failed to support them in coping with the stress associated with an error. This program raises awareness of the second victim phenomenon and enables TAANA participants to address the needs of caregivers and facilities following an adverse event.

The Federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act: A Prescription for a Culture of Safety.

• Ronnie McKinnon, RN, JD, CPHRM, CPSO, CPPS, TeamSTEPPS® Master Trainer, Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center, Stony Brook, New York

Ronnie_McKinnon.pptx 

This relatively new Federal law is the first ever Federal based Quality Assurance and Peer Review Privilege-Confidentiality Statute. It provides much greater protection for Health Care Providers because unlike state laws, there are few exceptions to this Federal Quality Assurance, Peer Review Privilege. But this Federal Law is not automatically operational and steps must be taken to invoke this legal protection. When properly cloaked with this Federal Legal Privilege, statements made by nurses, doctors and allied health professionals within a Patient Safety Evaluation System may not be disclosed to third parties, regulators or licensing boards.

License protection defense claims in the NSO and HPSO programs for both severity and frequency

• Loretta D'Antonio, Nurses Service Organization, Hatboro, Pennsylvania

Loretta_DAntonio.ppt

Provide an overview of license protection defense claims in the NSO and HPSO programs for both severity and frequency. Provide insights into complaint allegations, average expenses and regulatory board outcomes. Discuss risk control recommendations which will assist practitioners in reducing the likelihood of a board complaint.

• The InterProfessional Pediatric Advocacy Program (IPAP)
  Natalie Bachynsky, MSN, RN, CNE, UTMB Health School of Nursing, Galveston, Texas
  Mary O’Keefe, PhD, JD, RN, UTMB Health School of Nursing, Galveston, Texas

This presentation outlines the process of development, implementation and evaluation of an interprofessional program designed to train nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy students to: (1) evaluate the medical status and needs of children monitored by child protective services (CPS); and, (2) report intervention outcomes to CPS.

• Career Paths for Nurse Attorneys
  Jonathan Stewart, JD, MS, RN, Veterans Health Administration, Vancouver, Washington

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Jonathan_Stewart_3.pdf

Nurse attorneys are found in a wide variety of professional roles. This poster will present aggregated, de-identified TAANA membership data, selected demographic data, and profiles of nurse attorneys in representative roles.

Opening Keynote
New Directions in End of Life Care: Is Aid in Dying a Medical Issue or a Legal Issue?

• Robert L. Schwartz, JD, BA, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Robert_Schwartz.pdf

Is Aid in Dying better treated by our society as a matter of law, requiring statutory or constitutional justification to outweigh prohibitions on assisting suicide, or should it be treated like any other question of the medical standard of care? Who ought to be deciding whether aid in dying is available for particular patients: prosecutors and judges, or health care providers caring for those patients? This session will focus on recent developments in Legislation (in Vermont and elsewhere) and litigation (in Montana, New Mexico and elsewhere) that are clarifying issues surrounding prescription of lethal medications for competent, terminally ill patients. This session will also ask whether there is a difference between euthanasia, assisted suicide, aid in dying, medically assisted dying, and death with dignity, and inquire about why the name we give to the process is so important.

Legal issues keeping nurses awake at night: How, what and when to advise them

• Carolyn Buppert, RN, JD, Law Office of Carolyn Buppert, P.C., Boulder, Colorado

Carolyn_Buppert.pptx

Nurses make decisions with legal consequences on the fly, often without legal counsel. The nurse attorney often gets the client after the damage is done. The speaker describes a selection of the dilemmas reported to her this year by nurses, and discusses her approach to the issues and the clients.

Safe staffing in a just culture: Really???

• Alice Dupler, JD, APRN-BC, Gonzaga University School of Nursing & Human Physiology; WSU; College of Nursing, Valley, Washington

Alice_Dupler.ppt

This presentation includes an overview of safe staffing legislation nationally within the context of the just culture framework; it is then applied to cases that have been brought against nurses regionally in those states where safe staffing legislation has been implemented to assure client quality of care to prevent them from harm. Preventative strategies for quality improvement for professional licensure and corporate management are provided. And, recommendations for malpractice litigation are offered.

Cross Examination of Physicians and Nurses at Trial

• Kathleen Kettles, BSN, JD, Wingate Russotti Shapiro & Halperin, LLP, New York City, New York

Kathleen_Kettles.pptx
Kathleen_Kettles1.pdf
Kathleen_Kettles2.pdf

This presentation will identify materials necessary for the preparation of cross examination, and how to conduct online research of the MD/RN/PA/NP.  It will also discuss how to obtain prior transcripts and how to utilize medical records, including HER, for preparation of questions for cross and finally how to handle objections.

Reel in Regulatory Risk: Avoid a Government Catch

Kathleen Hessler, RN, JD, Simione Healthcare Consultants, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The government is increasingly casting a wider net in its search for fraud and abuse. Help your clients avoid being the government’s next catch by educating and assisting them in maintaining a sound ethics and compliance program. An analysis of a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) will include lessons learned to assist your clients in implementing measures that will strive to withstand legal scrutiny.

Beyond OSHA: Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Bullying in the Nursing Profession

• Susan Matt, PhD, JD, MN, RN, CNE, Seattle University, Seattle, Washington

Susan_Matt.pdf

Nurses who engage in bullying behaviors are violating the law, but more significantly, they are violating ethical mandates established by the profession. The presenter will review relevant legal and ethical principles that apply to bullying in the nursing profession, including initiatives that have been implemented in other countries.

Evening Keynote

Through Scrooge’s Eyes: The Past, Present, and Future of Medical Cannabis Programs and Patient Rights

• Marc M. Lowry, JD, MS, the Rothstein Law Firm, Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Table of Contents

Medical cannabis programs continue to expand across the United States. In order to assist clients within this unique practice area, this presentation will cover the background of the federal, state, and regulatory laws governing such programs, and discuss the unusual aspect of such programs being lawful as a matter of individual state laws, while being banned under federal law and most sister state jurisdictions. From the ethics of providing legal advice, to assessing the different approaches to medicinal use, and then discussing how to limit collateral consequences associated with using medicinal cannabis, this program seeks to educate participants on the interplay between federal law, state law, and the rights of medicinal cannabis patients.

Opportunities and Consequences of the Affordable Care Act for Healthcare Litigators

• Neil Ekblom, JD, LeClairRyan, New York City, New York
  

Neil_Ekblom.pdf

Within the Ten Titles of the ACA there are numerous areas of potential litigation, some express and others potential consequences of compliance and enforcement. This presentation provides an overview of certain provisions that healthcare litigators may encounter as the ACA is implemented and enforced impacting individual and business clients.

Robotic Surgery Liability Risks

• Laura Nordberg, RN, JD, MBA, CPHRM, CHSP, AHRMQR, Trinity Health, Livonia, Michigan

Laura_Nordberg.pptx

This presentation will educate attorneys about the liability risks associated with robotic surgeries, and offer strategies to mitigate these risks.

"Do You Know When a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement is Required? HIPAA, HITECH & the OMNIBUS RULE: What Non-Health Lawyers Need to Know for Their Clients and Themselves to Comply with the Law"

• Randi Kopf, RN, MS, JD, Kopf HealthLaw, LLC, Rockville, Maryland
• Rose Matricciani, RN, BS, JD, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, LLP, Baltimore, Maryland
  

Rose_Matricciani.ppt
Rose_Matricciani_1.pdf
Rose_Matricciani_2.pdf

This presentation will give an overview of the 2013 OMNIBUS Rule that amended HIPAA and the HITECH Act for non-health lawyers. We will focus on the key aspects of these complex regulations that may apply to their clients and the attorney. We will identify aspects of client matters that would require a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement for attorneys to be compliant with the law. Legal citations, sample language and a sample HIPAA Business Associate Agreement will be provided.

Framework of Disciplinary defense :Your Procedural rights, Climbing the Ladder of Due Process

Christine Whitney, PA, Jacksonville, Florida
Kathleen Murphy-Jones, Las Vegas, Nevada

Christine_Whitney.ppt
Kathleen_Jones1.ppt

This portion of the seminar will cover the following topics:

• Types of activities that will result in disciplinary action
• Job loss
• Reports to the Board of Nursing
• First notices of action by the Board
• Your choices of action
• The interventional Project for Nursing
• Hearings, appeals and final Orders

Surrender, Revocation and Suspension of A License and the OIG/National Practitioner Data Bank

• Judy Ringholz, RN, JD, CHC, VP, Internal Audit and Compliance Services, Lehigh Valley Health Network, PA

Judy_Ringholz.ppt
Judy_Ringholz.pdf

This portion of the seminar will examine the following topics:

• Situations that may lead to exclusion action by the Office of Inspector General (OIG)
• Consequences of exclusion
• Exclusion from Medicare
• National Practitioner Data Bank reporting

Practice Tips for Health Professionals - staying out of hot water, what to do to avoid Board investigations

Christine Whitney, PA, Jacksonville, Florida
Melanie Balestra, NP, JD, Newport Beach, CA

Balestra.pptx

This portion of the seminar is a panel discussion that will examine the following topics:

• Various strategies to avoid Board action

Practice Issues for Attorney - red flags, difficult defense cases

Taralynn Mackay, RN, JD, Dallas, Texas
Teressa Sanzio, RN, JD, Phoenix, Arizona
Paula F. Henry, RN, BSN, NP, JD

This portion of the seminar is a panel discussion that will examine the following topics:

• Payment issues
• Client selection
• Working with other attorneys on collateral issues such as a concurrent criminal investigation