Question

For HSM410, you will be completing a Healthcare Policy Analysis Paper . You will be required to choose a single past, current, or proposed legislative item to analyze. Submit a brief description of the problem/issue that your legislation addresses and the legislation itself that you will analyze in your paper.

It is expected that you will provide a focused topic that identifies a problem/issue of concern and the legislation that is/has/will address the problem. Once you have identified your legislation, you will not be allowed to change. Complete some preliminary research to ensure that you have enough sources and information available to meet both the page length and number of source requirements.

Topics such as HIPAA and Medicare (for example) are too broad for this assignment. You need to focus your topic on a specific aspect, such as the Privacy Rules of HIPAA or the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit.

Looking for help in different topics to choose from.

Answer 1

Introduction

Tobacco consumption claims millions of lives worldwide per year. Worldwide the number of cigarettes is projected to grow to 1.7 billion by 2020. While people are aware of the health hazards associated with smoking cigarettes, they often continue to smoke which is a highly addictive drug. Smoke, though, is exposed not only to the health effects of smoking but also to the people around it. The smoke from cigarettes impacts all people around a smoker, whether in public or in an enclosed space. A person experiences two environments that are home and the place of work that may affect the health of the individual. Therefore, a workplace is a critical area that should be secured for employee safety. Health organizations have a particularly sensitive setting in which patients and health workers should be covered for their safety. They can be affected by smoke in the environment due to the amount of time patients and health workers spend in the hospitals.Workplaces are diverse and offer the opportunity to meet different people, including smokers and non-smokers. Creating an acceptable way to account for this diversity is a struggle for many employers particularly when one group 's choice impacts others including smokers and non-smokers alike. The management can, however, encourage safety at work by following the policy that guarantees a safe atmosphere for everyone.
Change in tobacco-free workplace promotion has increased health policy adoption barring tobacco use in health-care organizations. Many health-care agencies are trying to create a positive public image and have accepted the implementation of tobacco-free hospital policies as one way to show their contribution to health. In the last two years, hospitals have gradually implemented regulations banning the use of nicotine in the workforce and have become a national phenomenon. Different forms of services are created and implemented in health care institutions to aid with the development and enforcement of the tobacco-free policies. This is the organisations' duty to develop and implement tobacco-free policies to ensure a clean workplace and protect patient safety.

Policy Analysis

The tobacco-free policy aims at preventing employees and other people from using tobacco inside a healthcare organization's premises. An organization that implements this policy seeks to present the public who are the primary beneficiaries of its health services a clean image.
Many techniques are introduced before applying the regulation to ensure a smooth implementation of the policy within the organisation. The program is viewed as an attempt to improve safety by integrating it into workplace fitness plans to avoid stigmatization or negative emotions towards those who smoke. Collaborating with the society around the organisation of the healthcare is important to improve the program. A task committee is set up to implement the organisation 's strategy. Penalties are established for captured people who breach the program, which could involve expelling them from the premises or dismissing employees. Due to the implementation of new legislation, the tobacco-free policy must be reviewed regularly and amended where necessary. The policy can range from a few restrictions to banning smoking altogether. Since the measures were initially introduced, it included establishing designated zones for smokers and non-smokers in the workplace. It involved the two classes of separate workstations and office space, optimal for some organisations but difficult for others to enforce, particularly when workers collaborate in various tasks. Tobacco was not removed and could, though minimally, also impact the non-smokers. Separating working colleagues which can impact efficiency is also not successful. The policy will prohibit smoking in the organization's facilities, but require smoking in designated outdoor areas , in order to create a smoke-free atmosphere. The policy will also require a well ventilated area reserved for smoking. The policy reduces or eliminates tobacco smoke in the environment by controlling the smoke source; that's the smokers themselves. The policy should involve employees whose support is crucial for policy implementation. Before the policy is implemented, there is discussion between employees and management to clarify any issues that may arise, and to define the policy's transition steps. When the conversation has taken place, the organisation is willing to enforce the legislation and keep the staff updated about each point of the policy adjustment. The smoking ban will be implemented inside the company until the transition is completed. After enforcing the regulation, ensuring that no one is granted a right by smokers regarding their role in the business is necessary for the organization to deter animosity or conflicts from emerging.

Smoking is a significant health concern in healthcare institutions, as it affects the health of smokers and non-smokers, including healthcare practitioners and patients. This is the responsibility of health care organizations, inside the organization's facilities, to provide a healthy and secure atmosphere for all.
The policy addresses the organisation's healthy environment issue. Tobacco smoke creates an unsafe environment for health-care services. It affects the health workers and patients whose smoke may exacerbate conditions such as asthma. By the program, an company anticipates that the climate can shift to be smoke-free and friendly to anyone who works there. The strategy aims at addressing security problems within the company. Data shows that a large percentage of office fires are caused by smoking tobacco that cost an company a great deal due to collateral damage or loss of life. Maintenance costs suffered because of smoking in the air are likely to be that. The policy also aims to enhance the morale of employees particularly non-smokers affected by the smoky environment. It also helps to mitigate court damages borne by an company as it is prosecuted in regards to the smoky atmosphere that impacts the workers.

History of the legislation

In America there are state laws regulating smoking at the workplace. Such laws were created after research indicated that non-smokers were vulnerable to tobacco smoke by passive smoking. The legislation's goal of protecting employee health. Employees with conditions of health that can be affected by smoking are covered under the 1990 American Disability Act. The Legislation forbids employers from discrimination against disabled workers. In a situation where tobacco smoke is involved, employees may request a smoke-free place of work.

Effectiveness of the legislation in addressing the issues

The tobacco-free campaign has profoundly influenced the organisations where it was brought into effect. It often includes organizations' indoor environments although it also applies to outdoor settings as well. The health and welfare of staff, workers and the environment are covered from cigarette smoke as the regulation is implemented in healthcare organizations. The program decreases people's access to second-hand or latent smoking in the workplace, which can impact their health. This provides a clean and stable working atmosphere where healthcare professionals can act well without smoke intervention. The program funds local neighborhood organizations that use or attend the health-care agency to encourage safe behaviors, i.e. to raise tobacco-free initiative awareness. With the regulation in effect, tobacco litter typical to smokers is minimized thereby reducing the risk of it being consumed by children or pets. Organizational maintenance costs are reduced as cigarette litter and smoke is removed from the facilities, and office equipment such as carpets, furniture, etc. last longer.
Tobacco-use legislation decreases the organization's risk of fires that are predominantly sparked by matches or cigarette smoke, thus the the health of people inside the premises. By promoting a smoke-free environment, it encourages employees or people who are smokers to stop smoking and enhances support for those who are trying to quit or have recently quit. Smoke-free workplaces not only eliminate cigarette smoke safety risks but also increase the employees ' efficiency.  Smoky environments reduce workplace productivity due to the absenteeism of smoke-related illnesses among the employees. The lack of productivity in an enterprise is also contributed by employee smoke breaks which lead to inefficiency. Non-workers have to strive more to make up for this career void created by the smokers' stupidity. The policy assists in increasing workplace productivity by preventing smoke breaks and reducing disputes over unbalanced workload between smokers and non-smokers in the workplaces. It also reduces employee absenteeism because of smoking-related illnesses. Studies indicate that a majority of staff, both smokers and non-smokers, choose to work in an atmosphere free of smoke. The tobacco-free campaign encourages a clean and smoke-free climate beneficial to the workers. In such an atmosphere, employee safety is secured, and the productivity and overall job results are increased. An company has a tobacco-use ban in effect avoids litigation risks that occur as a consequence of customers or workers challenging the entity for the toxic smoke and decreases the actual healthcare expenditures accrued. Employees will bargain for a reduced benefit in terms of safety, longevity and disabilities while drug consumption is decreased in organisations. A well-defined policy which includes fines for violations relieves the management of the challenge of managing the use of tobacco on its own in the premises. It creates a positive public image of the healthcare organization by showing the organization cares for the health of its employees and patients.

People most affected by the problem

Smoking affects people, smokers as well as non-smokers alike. Smokers are negatively affected by the consumption of nicotine because it impacts their health , making them likely to become sick due to the workplace's absenteeism. It can cause lung cancer in smokers, heart disease and respiratory diseases.
Non-smokers in particular those who live or work with smokers are mainly affected by second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoking is a mixture of cigarette tobacco smoke and smoker's breath, which is in every manner harmful to public health. Evidence has shown that second-hand smoking leads to the death of thousands of non-smokers, which may play a role in lung cancer growth. The most vulnerable group of non-smokers, though, is children. Children living in households where they are exposed to second-hand smoke on a daily basis are prone to experience high levels of respiratory problems and other infections. Second-hand smoke is believed to exacerbate asthma symptoms, cause bronchitis or pneumonia and increase children's risk of ear infections. Secondhand smoke impacts the pregnant women and the foetuses as well. Pregnant women exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to have miscarriages or stillbirths, lung-impaired babies or deliver low-weight sick babies Patients exposed to second-hand smoke in healthcare organizations are at high risk for respiratory disease. The smoke can exacerbate health conditions in patients with respiratory disorders such as asthma, bronchitis, etc., which can lead to patients' death.

Future of this legislation

Tobacco-use regulation is set to continue in various industries as government and people seek safer environments in which they can live and operate. Recent proposals involve implementing a multi-unit housing policy where landlords and tenants experience health effects from smoke that drifts from smokers filled buildings into their unit. Smoke-free buildings were introduced to safeguard the health of all stakeholders.
WHO and other health organizations have advocated for more steps to be put in place to prevent exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke by non-smokers. Several nations have been and continue to be involved in the debate of programs seeking to promote smoke-free areas where everyone can benefit. This is hoped that these initiatives will encourage politicians and businesses to implement tobacco-free policies that create workspaces and a smoke-free atmosphere with the goal of increasing efficiency , reducing smoke-related diseases. Increasing awareness campaigns from organizations and communities around the world about the consequences of tobacco smoke is expected to increase the number of organizations and employers implementing a tobacco-free policy to smoke-free the workplaces.

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