Please read: Case Study: Nurse Licensure Today is July 18th, 2005. You are the branch Administrator for an office of Clover Home Healthcare, Inc., located in a rural farming community. The organization you over see manages nearly 200 patient cases with a majority of individuals covered under Medicare and Medicaid payment plans. David Erickson is a valued member of your team and is the Director of Nursing Services. Three RN's and one LPN report to David. David has worked as a Registered Nurse forever 30 years. He is well liked and respected by both patients and staff, and his employment is in good standing. In addition to his nursing administration and staff supervisory duties, David averaged about four patient visits per day. David's annual review is coming up in August. At that time, he will be asked for a copy of his renewed RN licensure, also due in August. Verification of his licensure will be sent to Human Resources and kept in his personnel file. Per company policy, staff members are responsible to renew their clinical license and/or report any suspension orrevocations of their license. Scheduling annual reviews to coincide with license reewalis part of the process to ensure a current license is maintained in the employee's records. This morning you receive a call from the Direct of Compliance at Clover Home Health's corporate office. She informed you that a letter was received from the US Department of Health and Human Services stating that David's nursing license was revoked on November 16, 2004, due to outstanding child support and his unwillingness to cooperate with legal authorities to resolve the issue. You are convinced this must be an error. David has not informed you of the revocation of his license and has continued to provide nursing services consistently during this past nine months, despite nursing code of ethic rules. Clover Health has been reimbursed by CMS for services provided, when billing for patient services is dependent on the caregiver having a nursing license. Clearly there could be several David Erickson's who are Registered Nurses, so a follow up call was made to the HHS government office to validate their claim. Based on the information provided, which is not relevant to the outcome of this case, the revocation was confirmed. Corrective action began immediately. Assignment: Considering all aspects of legalities for a healthcare organization, briefly describe the steps you take to resolve this situation. Are there any processes you might put in place to minimize future risk to your organization

Considering all areas (Human Resource, Finance/Billing, Policy, etc.) with legal implications for a healthcare organization, briefly describe the steps you would take to resolve this situation. Who would you consult with before making any final decisions? Are there any processes you might put in place to minimize future risk to your organization?