Like CMS, you should pay attention to sexual harassment

With all the recent focus on sexual harassment in the workplace, healthcare organizations shouldn’t expect to avoid scrutiny. Especially not from CMS or the press. Sexual harassment always has been an issue in healthcare, and it’s not hard to find examples. Like the California surgeon who slapped a nurse’s rear every morning while saying “I’m horny.” That behavior and the facility’s inaction led to a $168 million lawsuit, plus months of bad publicity.

“I suspect we’re going to see much more attention to this in healthcare, because it’s in the headlines,” says Kate Fenner, PhD, RN, managing director of Compass Clinical Consulting. “We know that we have some healthcare incidents that have gotten national attention. We know that CMS takes this seriously, Joint Commission takes this seriously. So healthcare organizations need to review their vows about how they provide a safe working environment for employees.”

The Joint Commission requires that its accredited facilities meet all applicable laws (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX, for example, the recognition of sexual harassment as an infringement on civil rights for employees), and CMS is stringent about protecting patient rights (CMS Tag A-0145), including the right to receive care without harassment.

“Regulators and surveyors (CMS and The Joint Commission) pay careful attention to the news and trends in public interest,” Fenner says. “Allegations of improper conduct such as that recently lodged against a physician then practicing at a highly regarded medical center pique regulator interest and focus attention.”

Editor's Note: You can learn more about sexual harassment in the April editions of Patient Safety Monitor Journal and Briefings on Accreditation and Quality.