Question

Many healthcare professions require that their members maintain current in their trade. In this essay, examine why staying up to date is so critical for patient care. in 300-500 words

Answer 1

Ans) In light of potential future shortages of allied health personnel and the need to find a reasonable balance between health care costs and quality, it is believed that it is important to maintain flexibility in the use of existing personnel and a variety of routes of entry for new personnel.

- It appears that widespread use of licensure carries with it higher costs to consumers, reduced access to health care services, and reduced flexibility for managers. People in health care careers are inhibited from changing fields and from advancing within their fields by rigid requirements imposed by state regulatory mechanisms. Although these control mechanisms are designed and carried out in the stated interest of protecting the health and welfare of the public, their effectiveness in this regard has been mixed at best.

- Statutory certification, which legally reserves the use of a title to persons with specific qualifications, affords most of the benefits of licensure and avoids many of the costs. In conjunction with public education, it gives consumers the opportunity to choose among providers knowledgeably. It does not prevent consumers from choosing lower quality or lower cost alternatives. It permits institutional employers some flexibility in their staffing. It permits innovation—new careers may provide new cost-effective methods of diagnosis and treatment.

- The committee recommends statutory certification for fields in which the state determines there is a need for regulation because this form of regulation offers most of the benefits of licensure with fewer of its costs. Medicare and other third-party payers should accept state title certification as a prerequisite for reimbursement eligibility. Such certification can and should be based on examinations and other eligibility criteria the states may establish.

- It endorses the establishment of sunrise criteria to guide states' decisions about whether to regulate health occupations and, if so, how. These decisions should follow three basic principles:

1.the protection of the public is the sole reason for states to regulate health occupations;

2.the least restrictive regulatory mechanism consistent with public protection should be selected, taking into account other means that are in place; and

3.If, after due deliberation, the decision is made to regulate an occupation, it must be followed by a continuing commitment of resources on the part of the legislature, the governor, and the relevant administrative agencies.

State regulatory structures and procedures must be improved if they are to be effective. In most states the composition of boards, the requirements for entry, and the flow of information to the public are not fully consistent with the public interest.

The committee recommends that states strengthen the accountability and broaden the public base of their regulatory mechanisms. In the near term, the committee suggests the following:

Licensing boards should draw at least half of their membership from outside the licensed occupation; members should be drawn from the public as well as from a variety of areas of expertise such as health administration, economics, consumer affairs, education, and health services research.

Flexibility in licensure statutes should be maintained to the greatest extent possible without undue risk of harm to the public. This may mean, for instance, allowing multiple paths to licensure or overlapping scopes of practice for some licensed occupations.

• The regulatory process should be conducted as openly as possible and should produce a flow of information to the public, including:

• the scope of practice of the occupation as defined by state law and regulation;

• the eligibility requirements for entry into the occupation;

• basic information about licensees, including the status of their license and any disciplinary actions taken by the state, as well as basic data such as educational background, which should be collected as part of the licensing process; and

• board membership and procedures, especially procedures for filing complaints against licensed professionals.

Regulatory boards should be well connected to the state bureaucracy.

If a state requires graduation from an accredited educational program for licensure, the state should take an active interest in the accreditation requirements to ensure that they are consistent with the state's interests.

Finally, the committee believes that decisions by states, accrediting bodies, and health care payers regarding scope of practice, referral, and supervision should be better informed. The Bureau of Health Professions (or another future focal point for allied health personnel in the Department of Health and Human Services) should sponsor a body with members drawn from allied health and other health professions and from the health and social science research communities to assess objectively the evidence bearing on jurisdictional issues. This body, in consultation with other experts and interested parties, should consider issues of risk, cost, quality, and access. It should draw on available scientific evidence and identify topics on which research is needed.

Well-designed experiments and demonstrations of innovative roles for allied health personnel will provide valuable evidence to guide regulatory policy.