WELCOME MESSAGE:
COURSE NUMBER:
BUL 4602/5605
COURSE TITLE:
Legal Fundamentals of Health Care and Public Health
COURSE OVERVIEW:
This course is utilized in the degree plans of following programs:
This is a FULLY ONLINE course. Additional information on this structure is provided in the
welcome message above and will be discussed within the UWF eLearning environment when you register.
INSTRUCTOR:
Rodney Johnson, J.D.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
PREREQUISITES OR COREQUISITES:
Course is open to juniors, seniors and graduate students.
Those interested in this course and/or the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences or
Master of Public Health degree programs
should contact Mr. Steve Celestial, Academic Programs Advisor and Coordinator,
at (850) 474-2885 or scelestial@uwf.edu.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will cover topics in the body of law generally described as health law.
The topics are directly usable and useful to those providing health care and also to
those individuals that will be performing in the areas of public health. The legal
basis for government involvement in the public's health is examined. A general
overview of the laws controlling the provision of private sector healthcare
including industry and professional regulation, prohibited payment schemes,
Bioethics, end-of-life issues, informed medical consent, and patient privacy.
Offered concurrently with BUL 5605; graduate students will be prepare a paper
ethically analyzing a selected topic area of public health as presented in
position papers of the CDC.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (Objectives):
After completing this course the student will be able to work in a health care environment and
recognize the legal duties and obligations affecting the provision of healthcare in both the
private and public sector. The student will also have the skills to conform their actions
to legal requirements and ethically analyze daily healthcare situations.
This course specifically meets the following programmatic goals for the B.S. Health Sciences and MPH degree programs:
- Content and Critical Thinking:
- Recognize when a legal professional should be consulted on issues in public health and health care legal issues.
- Apply relevant laws in the public health environment.
- Employ the overall legal regulation of healthcare as applied to institutions and professionals.
- Evaluate bioethical issues in complex medical decisions.
- Communication:
- Develop cooperative solutions avoiding legal conflict in the health care/public health arenas.
- Apply public health and health care laws to cases on liability, sovereign immunity, patient care medicare, prohibited payment arrangements, public health surveillance, inspection, nuisance abatement, occupational liscencing, insurance regulation, and ancillary provider regulation.
TOPICS COVERED:
Overview
This course is divided into several major topic areas: Ethics, Morals and the Legal System.
Following sessions will address liability, provider duties, professional licensing, licensing enforcement,
Medical records, public health, end of life decisions and bioethics.
Changes and adjustments to the course schedule may occur in response to unforeseen circumstances.
Tentative Schedule
| Week | Lecture | Topic | Quiz |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | Law and Ethics | No |
| 2 | 2 | The Legal System | Yes |
| 3 | 3 | Liability | Yes |
| 4 | 4 | Healthcare Provider Duties | Yes |
| 5 | 5 | Healthcare Business Organization | Yes |
| 6 | 6 | Healthcare Licensing and Discipline | Yes |
| 7 | | MIDTERM | |
| 8 | 7 | Healthcare Fraud-Abuse / Federal Regulation | Yes |
| 9 | 8 | Medical Records | |
| 10 | | Medical Records (continued) | Yes |
| 11 | 9 | Public Health in Action | |
| 12 | | Public Health in Action (continued) | Yes |
| 13 | 10 | End of Life Decisions | Yes |
| 14 | 11 | Bioethics | Yes |
| 15 | | Study Week | |
| 16 | | FINAL EXAM | |
RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND READING MATERIALS:
The course is supported by two textbooks and assigned readings downloadable from the Internet:
- Medical Law & Ethics, Second edition, by Bonnie F. Fremgen, Prentice Hall, © 2006. [ISBN: 0-13-117708-7] and may be purchased online from booksellers such as Amazon.com.and
- The Legal Basis of Public Health (LBPH), an e-book, supported by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Association of Schools of Public Health. This book is available at http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/PHTN/legal-basis/.
- Website designated for this course: http://uwf.edu/sahls/courses/bul5605/
- Substantial additional readings are located at: http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/phlawreadings.asp .
- The lectures are fairly complete and should be reviewed first. The above listed readings are designed to supplement the lectures.
SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY UTILIZED BY STUDENTS: (beyond baseline requirements of e-mail and word processing)
This course is taught completely online within UWF's eLearning course management system.
REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Additional references and links will be provided within the eLearning system.
GRADING/EVALUATION:
A midterm, final and frequent quizzes will occur during the course.
EXPECTATIONS FOR ACADEMIC CONDUCT/PLAGIARISM POLICY:
- Academic Conduct Policy
[Web format]
- Plagiarism Policy
[PDF format]
- Student Handbook
[PDF format]
It is the philosophy of The University of West Florida that academic dishonesty is a completely
unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic
dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline
may include suspension or expulsion from the University.
Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission
for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person,
taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or
the attempt to commit such acts.
In addition, any behavior that interferes with the conduct of a class is classified as disruptive
behavior and will not be tolerated. Although not exhaustive, examples of disruptive behavior
would include: inappropriate or threatening online postings or e-mails, etc.
ASSISTANCE:
Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other course-related
accommodations should contact Disabled Student Services (DSS),
dss@uwf.edu, (850) 474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the instructor
that will specify any recommended accommodations.
Every effort will be made to accommodate the special needs of disabled students.
Please privately contact the instructor during the first week of class to
provide information on your particular needs. All such accommodations are officially arranged
through the Office for Disabled Student Services and a letter from this office must accompany your request.
