The RN files a lawsuit regarding wrongful termination of employment in reference to telemedicine regulations

Unfortunately, in the next caseThe telemedicine program’s policies and procedures for communicating with physicians weren’t followed, resulting in the RN’s dismissal and wrongful termination lawsuit.

The circumstances of the case

In this case, the Social Welfare Home in query began using the telemedicine program in 2018. The program included consultations with telemedicine doctors practically after “normal working hours”, relatively than contact with patients’ personal doctors. The policy developed by the Nursing Home required nurses to make use of the telemedicine program from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. in the course of the week and in any respect times on weekends. Participating physicians couldn’t be contacted for certain conditions, corresponding to routine lab tests or chronic pain, but could possibly be contacted through this system if the patient had gastrointestinal distress, fever, and other symptoms. The 2nd shift RN manager took over conducting rounds and assisted the nursing staff on this shift. When the RN needed help or when there was a change within the patient’s condition, she contacted her supervisor, the department manager on the day shift.

At the start of January 2019, the RN was caring for a chronically in poor health patient whose personal doctor ordered a blood sample taken from a central line. Laboratory results showed a central line infection. Although the outcomes were received in the course of the period by which nursing staff were instructed to make use of telemedicine physicians, the RN contacted the patient’s personal physician by telephone.

The doctor ordered the patient to be taken to hospital immediately. The RN did so and notified her supervisor after the transfer. The next day, a colleague liable for training nursing staff on the telemedicine program told the RN that she had not followed the established procedure for contacting telemedicine physicians and that her department manager ought to be notified before contacting her personal physician. Two days later, the RN expressed concern that the patient was not taking her medications, not eating or drinking, and had loose stools and green vomit. The RN called the patient’s personal physician, who ordered the patient sent to the hospital. The RN organized the transfer and informed the pinnacle of her unit about it.

The director of nursing met with the RN a number of days later and told her she can be suspended pending an investigation for a “protocol violation” regarding sending patients away from the ability.

She was later informed by phone that she had been terminated.

A lawsuit was filed for wrongful termination of the employment contract

In her lawsuit, the RN alleged that the termination of her employment was illegal and contrary to public policy because of her conduct while caring for the 2 patients described above. Specifically, she alleged that her termination violated Ohio’s public policy, which states that RNs “shall not be impeded or prevented from engaging in the practice of nursing and the provision of nursing care to individuals,” pursuant to the Ohio Nursing Practice Act and Regulations . The Social Welfare Home responded to the criticism after which filed an application for a summary judgment. She argued that the termination of RN’s employment was proper because she was an at-will worker. The Court further argued that there was no public policy exception to her employment at her discretion due to situation for which she was dismissed. The nursing home also argued that the termination of her employment was justified because she did not follow its policies and procedures. The Supervisory Board replied that it had met all of the conditions for a claim for illegal dismissal from service in violation of public order. She also stated that the rationale for her termination was to maintain hospital return rates as little as possible within the country, which she believed inappropriately prioritized profits over medical care. She also emphasized that there have been no written or other policies requiring her to contact her supervisor when a patient needed to be transferred from the ability. The trial court granted the nursing home’s motion for summary judgment, finding that there was no clear public policy statement within the portions of the Act or Regulations cited by the RN or that her conduct was covered by any public policy. The Supervisory Board appealed against the choice of the court of first instance.

Decision of the Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeals fastidiously analyzed Ohio’s wrongful termination law in addition to the Ohio Nurse Practice Act and its rules. The Court found that the termination of the RN’s employment didn’t constitute a breach of public policy and that the Nurse Practice Act and its rules didn’t create public policy. In part, his exact words were: “…requiring a nurse to consult with her superiors regarding the action to be taken regarding a patient and to follow a specific procedure to discuss the patient’s condition with qualified physicians does not interfere with her ability to provide care to patient. It merely outlines the procedures to be followed in providing this care, none of which are particularly burdensome. The trial court’s entry of summary judgment in the nursing home case was affirmed.

What can you learn from this case?

The Court of Appeals emphasized that its decision was based on Ohio’s established law regarding wrongful termination as a violation of public policy. This policy, the court discussed, must be clear. In this case, there was no such clarity, so the court had no choice but to rule in favor of the nursing home. This is an important issue if you are considering filing a wrongful termination lawsuit or any other wrongful termination cause of action.

Can you prove the required elements of the case? Is your evidence reliable?

In this case, using the telemedicine program and notifying the supervisor before transferring patients would have allowed the RN to keep her job. It is unknown why she did not do this. It is known that the patients were in serious condition and required immediate transport to hospital. She fulfilled her duty to these patients by protecting them from further harm, including death, in accordance with the requirements and regulations of nursing practice. Indeed, the Court of Appeal’s discussion of the statute’s articles and principles pointed to one of its purposes, which is to protect the patient from unqualified and unlicensed nurses. However, she did so by failing to follow the home’s established policies and procedures for communicating the patient’s condition to “competent physicians” (the Court’s words) via a telemedicine program. As an at-will employee, you can be fired for good cause, bad reasons, or no reason (in the latter case with express exceptions, including public policy violations). This case illustrates that failure to follow an employer’s policies and procedures is cause for termination of employment if redundancy does not apply.

Take related courses:

Telemedicine is a growing aspect of modern healthcare. This could be electronic data sharing, video conferencing or a simple telephone call. Telemedicine is a complement to face-to-face visits, not a replacement. This module provides healthcare providers with information about telemedicine, including types of telemedicine, clinical applications, and assistive technologies.

Nurses have a responsibility to keep up to date with current issues related to the regulation of nursing practice not only in their own state, but also throughout the country, especially when their nursing practice crosses state borders. Because practicing as a nurse is a right granted by the state to protect those in need of nursing care, nurses have a duty to patients to practice in a safe, competent and responsible manner. This course provides information regarding nursing practices and their impact on nursing practice.

Healthcare workers are held to high moral standards and expected to be advocates for patients. This innate drive to do “what’s right,” which is probably going a prerequisite to pursuing a profession in patient care, is rooted in history, law, clinical education, and current every day practice. What to do when the road is blurred and there isn’t a clear answer for all parties involved? The purpose of this course is to enable the nurse to grasp past, present, and future practices of ethical decision-making within the acute care setting, in addition to methods to take care of situations when our own values ​​and judgments aren’t consistent with those of the patient, family, or care team.