The Impact of 3 Legislative Acts
Explore the impact of 3 legislative acts on the provision of health services and your role as a Medical Secretary.
You will need to identify, discuss, and consider three legislations
discussed on the course, and how these would be applied within
the workplace of a Medical Secretary, and how they impact the
development of policy (this is the update of policies if and when
there are changes to legislation).
Consideration of specific impact on the role of the Medical
Secretary, particularly GDPR, should be discussed.
THE 3 LEGISLATIONS ACTS TO USE ARE:
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005
Mental Health Act 2001
General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR)
Sample Answer
The Impact of 3 Legislative Acts
Legislative Acts are formulated to establish a certain standard of acceptable behavior in care delivery. Legislative acts aim at increasing safety and protecting the rights of individuals. They also influence the duties and responsibilities of health professionals as they have to adhere to the standards to avoid legal and ethical implications. The discussion will focus on three legislation acts, namely the Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work Act 2005, Mental Health Act 2001, and General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR), and their impact on health care and the role of the Medical Secretary. The Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 outlines how the safety, health, and welfare of employees at the workplace should be maintained. The act has influenced the installation and management of systems at work aiming at achieving safety. A Medical Secretary is impacted by the act as they must follow the relevant statutory provisions to ensure the safety of oneself and other people affected by the activities of the Medical Secretary. In health provisions, health facilities have a duty to provide a safe environment for both patients and workers through various ways such as emergency plans, installation of alarms, use of protective clothing, and others. Studies indicate that workplace incidences that possess risks of injury to patients are workers results to emotional distress, which can lead to long-term effects if not properly addressed.
Mental Health Act 2001 outlines how and why one can be admitted to a psychiatric facility and the rights that one has as a patient. The act has changed how care is provided as the patient is actively involved and is considered in the decision-making of their care. The patient is entitled to respect and to be treated with dignity. They have the right to be informed about their legal rights, treatment, and admission. The act has impacted care delivery as collaboration with the patient having an active role in their care has become a major feature in evidence-based care. According to Georgieva et al. (2017), a significant number of stakeholders agree that patients benefit from the care and that the act ensures a fair and independent review of a person’s detention. Care has been impacted through certain changes in policies, including the need to obtain the consent of a patient with a decision-making capacity regarding electroconvulsive therapy and failure to do being termed unlawful. The renewal order for involuntary detention cannot exceed six months. Health care professionals also have to be informed about ethical and legal considerations while providing care to the patients, such as informed consent. A medical Secretary is involved in sharing information about the patient, and is impacted by the Mental Health Act 2001 as they are required to obtain informed consent from the patient depending on the decision-making capacity of the patient. A Medical Secretary has the role of informing patients about their admission and other needs related to data sharing among the care providers. The role must align with the legal and ethical standards.
The General Data Protection Regulation is a privacy and security law that imposes obligations to individuals and organizations collecting data or targeting people in the EU. The GDPR levies harsh fines on parties that violate the security and privacy standards, with penalties charged reaching tens of millions of Euros. The legislative act has impacted the formulation of special sets of principles that requires data to pass through four standards, including limitation of purpose, data minimization, data proportionality, and control (Yuan & Li, 2019). The GDPR impacts the work of a Medical Secretary who is involved in gathering information from other hospitals as the need arises. Such data include pathology reports, scans, and other medical reports. A Medical Secretary has a responsibility to uphold the privacy and safety of the data they handle to avoid penalties. A Medical Secretary has a responsibility to implement security measures such as the use of passwords and restrictions on certain areas of a healthcare facility and to seek informed consent from a patient.
