Before discussing the potential impacts of criminal violations on health care providers and, particularly, on their professional status, we must distinguish between such notions as felony and misdemeanor. Furthermore, we should not disregard the peculiarities of health care system, which imposes very stringent restrictions on people, who work in this field. In this respect, it is quite possible for us to say that, professional and legal status of a health care provider is determined not only by the state and by federal laws, but also by statutory regulations.
Traditionally misdemeanor is interpreted as a minor offence, which is less serious than felony. As a rule, such form of deviant behavior does not entail deprivation of civil rights, such as, for instance, imprisonment (Fisher, 1998). However, it may lead to administrative punishment: displacement, fines, and even the loss of professional license. It is worth mentioning that there is the so-called “punishable-misdemeanor” which can result in jail sentence.
Although such cases are not very widespread, they may occur in health care system (Clevette, 2007). Such forms of misdemeanor as negligence, endangering the physical and mental health of a patient, may involve criminal responsibility and even imprisonment. For example, an employee may be sentenced to 4 year of prison if he or she is practicing in a banned manner and such misconduct threatens a patient’s life (MHRRD, 2006).
Overall, it is not always easy to differentiate between these two notions, but according to federal law, a “felony is an offence, punishable by death or by imprisonment, exceeding more than by year” (Robert Fisher, 1998). Such crimes as drug sale, embezzlement fraud, and falsification of records can be labeled as a felony. In the majority of cases, felony entails only the loss of civil rights, but it does not affect a persons professional status or license. Nevertheless, there are certain exceptions to this rule, especially if we are speaking about medical sphere. An employee may be never allowed to practice if he or she has ever been found engaged in criminal activity. Thus, we can say that traditional distinction between misdemeanor and felony is not acceptable for health care intuitions.
As regards health care system, we can say that disciplinary action can spring from any form of misconduct, which may imperil the life of a patient and his mental or physical state. Among them, we can single out the following ones: maltreatment, unprofessional conduct (prejudiced attitude towards a patient, misinforming, reluctance to meet the standards, set by the medical institution), or negligence.
Apart from that, medical workers may be engaged in activities, involving criminal responsibility, such as fraud, drug sale, falsification of records, bribery and many others. Any health care provide, who is found guilty of any of these crimes, may serve prison term, and lose his or her license. It should be borne in mind that certain forms of deviant behavior may result in certain mandatory measures, which mean that they are aimed at protecting the community from possible danger, for example the revocation of license.
Thus, we arrive at the conclusion that legal interpretation of felony and misdemeanor is not applicable to health care system because both of them can affect an employee’s civil and professional status. In addition to that, it should be pointed out that a medical worker is a subject not only to the existing legislation but also to the statute of the organization and professional standards.
Bibliography
Clevette, A., Erbin-Roesemann, M. and Kelly, C. (2007). Nursing Licensure: An Examination of the Relationship Between Criminal Convictions and Disciplinary Actions. Journal of Nursing Law, 11(1), 5-11.
Gibelman, M. & Whiting, L. (1999). Negotiating and contracting in a managed care environment: Considerations for practitioners. Health & Social Work 24 (3), 180.
Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department(2006). Health Professions Discipline Law. Web.
Shulman, H. (2001). The case against without-cause termination provisions in provider contracts. Healthcare Financial Management 55 (7), 42.
Robert J. Fischer, Gion Green (1998). Introduction to Security. Elsevier.