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Background
During the 1998 Kentucky General
Assembly Legislative Session, the Kentucky Nurses Association drafted
and lobbied for House Bill 591, "The Patient Safety Act". The bill
was sponsored by KNA member State Representative Mary Lou Marzian and
others. HB 591 was passed through the legislative and Governor
Paul Patton signed it into law in July 1998.
What the Law Means
The Patient Safety Act
contains several sections, one of which is referred to as "Whistleblower
Protection" (Section 3). The "whistleblower" section does the
following:
- Places a legal duty
on all employees at a healthcare facility who have a
good faith reason to believe that a situation is unsafe for a
patient, employee, or visitor to make a written report to
his/her facility.
- The healthcare employee has the option of making a report
to a regulatory agency.
- "Whistleblower Protection" protects any employee who files a
report from any form of retaliation.
- The employer is legally required to investigate a report,
determine appropriate action, and provide a response within seven(7)
working days to the employee who filed the report.
Who Enforces The Law
The
Patient Safety Act is enforced by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health
Services. The Cabinet has the authority to determine whether the
law has been violated and what penalty an offending facility must
receive, including penalties as serious as revocation of license.
The Cabinet for Health Services
will not promulgate regulations to define what constitutes an "unsafe"
condition, but rather it will make determinations on a case-by-case
basis. KNA has contacted the Cabinet to discuss the possibility
of creating formal guidelines on how to file a report with one's
facility, regulatory agencies and the Cabinet. To date, the
Cabinet has not issued any formal direction on the process of filing
reports of unsafe conditions.
How to Report an Unsafe
Condition
(These steps are recommended by KNA.
There are no legally defined steps to date)
1. Your report should be written and
submitted to your supervisor and at least one other person in
administration who you feel would be appropriate or responsive.
2. Attach a copy of the Patient Safety
Act to your report and cite the law within your report.
3. Describe the unsafe condition with
great specificity by including dates, unit, shift, patients/acuity (do
not use names), staffing, etc. ****Remember to write as if you
are talking to a layperson who may not understand why a situation is
unsafe. Illustrate the specific risk (s) or harm suffered.
4. If the condition you are
reporting involves a pattern over time (such as short staffing), try
to focus on a particular day, unit, shift, and patients for the
purpose of being specific. You can mention at the end of your
report that this report reflects one instance in a recurrent pattern.
5. Remember that "unfair" does not
constitute "unsafe". Avoid elaborating on bad work environment
and focus on what is unsafe and why.
6. Remind your employer that the law
requires them to investigate your report, determine appropriate
action, and give you a response within seven (7) working days.
7. At the end of seven working days, if
you have received no response, or if you have received an unacceptable
response, call KNA to discuss your options.
8. If you choose to file a report with a
regulatory body (such as JCAHO, HCFA or others), you may do that at
any time during this process. Call the appropriate regulatory
agency for directions on filing a report. Remember that the
Office of the Inspector General at the Cabinet for Health Services
handles reports of unsafe conditions, and requires that you follow the
steps outlined above before reporting to the cabinet.
For General Information on the
Patient Safety Act:
Some Important Phone Numbers
and Addresses
Kentucky Nurses Association
1400 South First Street
P.O. Box 2616
Louisville, KY 40201-2616
(502) 637-2546 or (800) 348-5411
If you choose to report an unsafe
condition to a regulatory agency (in addition to filing a report with
your facility):
Office of Inspector General
(Louisville Office)
Donna Demaree
Office of Inspector General
L&N Building, 2nd Floor E
908 West Broadway
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 595-4079
(Frankfort Office)
Cabinet for Health Services
Office of the Inspector General
275 East Main Street
Frankfort, KY 40621
(502) 564-2800
Joint Commission On Accreditation of
Health Care Organizations (JCAHO)
JCAHO
#1 Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook, IL 60181
(630)792-5642
Center for Medicare of Medicaid
Services (CMS)
Linda Niswander
Division of Medicaid and State
Operations
61 Fourth Street, Suite 4 T 20
Atlanta, GA 30303-8909
(404) 562-7453
If your facility does not respond
appropriately to your report, you may appeal to:
Office of the Inspector General
Cabinet for Health Services
Commonwealth of Kentucky
275 East Main Street - 4 East
Frankfort, KY 40621-0001
(502)564-2800
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