Discussion Board

Topic 1: Chapter 9: “Case Study – Performance Review”

The performance review program at Valley Urgent Care was developed some years ago and has generally served the organization well. The supervisors took the responsibility to conduct timely, meaningful reviews very seriously. The review process consisted of ratings on the following skills and competencies:

• Customer service

• Clinical abilities

• Communications with patients and fellow employees

• Attendance

• Work attitude

However, the employees and supervisors have commented that the review process lacked relevance and was in need of updating. They indicated that there were not enough evaluation categories to adequately evaluate the complexity and variety of jobs at Valley Urgent Care. Additional categories that were suggested included computer skills, compliance with HIPAA, willingness to take on additional duties, and leadership.

Valley Urgent Care’s administrator agreed that it was time to review the evaluation process and criteria has asked the HR manager to pull together a work team of managers to develop a new process that would be more relevant and meaningful to the organization and employees.

Questions

1. Why would the employees see the current review process as irrelevant?

2. What types of changes should the work team consider in order to improve the process and criteria?

HA255: Human Resources for Healthcare Organizations

CLASSMATE POST #1

The employees of Valley Urgent Care may see the current review process as irrelevant because reviews are sometimes inaccurate, untimely, negative, and gives information that is worthless. The impact of an outdated review process can be negative on motivation and productivity. Using an online platform for the reviews can help employees and management to log in and keep track of feedback and progress all year long. It is convenient and easily accessible. Reviews and check-ins can be done more frequently for example quarterly instead of at the end of the year, that way reviews and feedback would be up-to-date. Emphasize employees’ strengths and how they are an asset to the company, not only the negative. Discuss their goals for months to come (American Management Association, 2020). An effective performance management system should help create a work environment that is effective and that empowers (Flynn, W.J., 2016).

American Management Association (7 January 2020). The dos and don’ts of performance reviews. Retrieved from https://www.amanet.org/articles/the-dos-and-donts-of-performance-reviews/

Flynn, W. J. Healthcare Human Resource Management. [Purdue University Global Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781305840669/

Josephine

CLASSMATE POST #2

At Valley Urgent Care the employees, staff, and supervisors all rated the reviews to be out dated and old. Some of the requirements that they have listed are relevant for a performance review however they do not touch on achievements, goals, leadership, growth, or relevant areas to which their jobs require. Below I give a brief way that Valley Urgent Care’s team could improve and the type of criteria they should take in to consideration when updating their performance review’s.

A performance review is an honest evaluation of the employee’s performance, both good and bad. It gives praise of the positives and achievements and expresses the areas they lack that improvements are needed. Most performance reviews consist of 6 key components: communication, collaboration and teamwork, problem-solving, quality and accuracy of work, attendance and dependability, and the ability to accomplish goals and meet deadlines. Before doing a review, as the manager, you should ask yourself, Did the employee satisfy and meet all responsibilities and requirements of their job? Did the employee lack in any areas to which they may need improvements? By doing this you are giving them the positives and listing their negatives to which they may need to improve since the last review. A review is based off all the time from the last review until this review. For instance, you have an employee that had a horrible and off week last week, their review of their performance should not be based off that week it should be based off their overall performance from the past 6 months or a year depending on how often your job gives performances. After that, then base your review off of three key components or points: company-specific competencies, position-specific competencies, and achievement. Within the competencies of the three key points is where the employees skills such as organization, knowledge, attitude, and work ethic will be included. After setting this up I will then lead the review and end the review with a positive. By doing this and ending the review on a positive note lets the employee know that they are valued and worthy they just had a few things too which they could improve and you are encouraging them to improve in those areas.

References

Bradley K. (March 18th, 2018). Sling: 4 Examples of Performance Reviews that Inspire Greatness

https://getsling.com/blog/examples-of-performance-reviews/

Juliette Denny (July 12th,2017). Growth Engineering: 6 Reason’s Why Performance Reviews Don’t Work

https://www.growthengineering.co.uk/annual-performance-reviews-dont-work/

Crystal

HI135: Legal Aspects of Health Information

Ethics and Values in Healthcare – Part I

Conduct an Internet search to find cases where an organization or individual has been penalized for improperly accessing patient information. There have been several cases of protected health information (PHI) breaches of celebrities and other high-profile individuals. Once you have completed your search and identified some examples of breaches, share your findings with the class as well as the penalties for the PHI breaches.

CLASSMATE POST #3

The following breach occurred in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts in 2011. A Warner Chilcott pharmaceutical sales representative was allowed by Dr. Rita Luthra to have access to the personal medical information of her patients. Dr. Luthra a gynecologist, allowed this illegal act to continue from January 2011 to November of 2011. Dr. Luthra provided gynecological services to the patients in the low-income population of Springfield. In the suit, it is stated that Dr. Luthra was paid over $23,000 for recommending medication for osteoporosis but she stated that she was paid for holding meetings in her office and gave speeches and also for writing a research paper that was not finished. Dr. Luthra was accused of giving the Warner Chilcott representative access to the patient’s information so that pre-authorization forms for health insurance companies that were not authorizations for the prescriptions of the osteoporosis medications that were promoted by Warner Chilcott. She also insisted that her assistant lies to the investigators about the situation. Dr. Luthra broke the law and HIPAA privacy rule and she can no longer practice as a physician, she could have been given six years in prison, a year of being monitored when paroled, $50,000 to $300,000 fine for the breach, and $250,000 for obstructing the investigation. Dr. Luthra instead received a year of probation (HealthITSecurity, ).

HealthItSecurity (21 September 2018). MA physician gets 1-year probation for criminal HIPAA violation. Retrieved from https://healthitsecurity.com/news/ma-physician-gets-1-year-probation-for-criminal-hipaa-violation

Josephine

CLASSMATE POST #4

On June 25, 2009, musician Michael Jackson passed away due a drug overdose at his home in Los Angeles. Jackson’s body was taken to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.  While at the hospital and after his passing, for five days the staff of the hospital inappropriately accessed Jacksons medical records (Money, 2020). There were approximately 6 employees who were charged with the breach of HIPAA by accessing medical records. Within two weeks of his passing, his death certificate was viewed more than 300 times. This included medical students, contractors, and employees who were terminated from their positions. The Hospital faced a $95,000 fine for these privacy violations by the California Department of Public Health for this incident. In 2011, UCLA Health System had agreed to pay total fines of $865, 000 to settle these and other violations at three hospitals.

While under the care of his physician, Dr. Arnold Klein, reported that Jackson’s phi was seriously violated. He reported that Jackson’s attorneys, an employee, and his accountant released his entire medical chart without proper permission. Due to this violation, Dr. Klein states that it caused his practice to incur damages such as loss of patients and trust. With this breach, it has given the media free access to Jackson’s private medical information (Money, 2020).

Reference:

Money, M. 2020 February 4. The Ultimate List of Celebrity HIPAA Violations. Retrieved from: https://etactics.com/blog/celebrity-hipaa-violations

Heather