healthcare organizations do not have the right to mandate flu vaccines to employees roger anderson,...
TRANSCRIPT
Healthcare Organizations Do Not Have the Right to
Mandate Flu Vaccinesto Employees
Roger Anderson, Leslie Burgy, Margie Pokorski, & Carolyn Sucaet
LDR 650 Medical Law
3-13-14
OVERVIEW
POSITION STATEMENTHISTORY OF FLU VACCINES, MANDATES, AND PRECEDENTS
WHY MANDATE?
EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE
VIOLATION OF PERSONAL FREEDOM AND CHOICE
NURSES AGAINST MANDATORY VACCINES -YOUTUBE VIDEO
CONCLUSION
POSITION STATEMENT
Healthcare Organizations Do Not Have the Right to Mandate Flu Vaccines to Employees
Hospital Flu Vaccine MandateCorrective Action, Termination
Applicable Laws, Regulatory Agency Positions, Research, and Ethical Theories Support Our
Position
HISTORY OF FLU VACCINES, MANDATES, AND PRECEDENTS
History of Vaccines
• The Joint Commission• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Center (EEOC)• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Jacobson v. Massachusetts, Seminal Case in immunization and Public Health Law, ruled that protecting public health took precedence over an individual’s freedom of choice
Government agencies do not mandate nor do they recommend that hospitals implement mandatory flu vaccines for their employees
EMPLOYEES ASK WHY MANDATE?
Low Effectiveness
• CDC 2012/13 56% effectiveness rate• Measles 99% effectiveness rate• Rubella 95-99% effectiveness rate
Unsupported Transmittal Rate
EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE
Hospital Fears Respondeat Superior
• Alternatives (e.g. masks) do provide obvious indicator which does constitute a privacy violation
Employee Consent is Coerced
HIPAA violation not an issue
VIOLATION OF PERSONAL FREEDOM AND CHOICE
Healthcare workers have the right to make informed, voluntary choices regarding vaccines
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) does not advocate for or against vaccines but defends the right to exercise informed consent to medical risk-taking
IOM acknowledges an increased susceptibility for certain individuals that have unidentified genetic or other biological high risk factors for an adverse response
VIOLATION OF PERSONAL FREEDOM AND CHOICE
Mandatory vaccination policies without exemption penalizes those holding religious and conscientious objections to vaccination
• Provides exemption for religious beliefs• 2014 Class action lawsuit filed in Michigan • Pregnant nurse fired for refusing vaccination
Civil Rights Act, Title VII
NURSES AGAINST MANDATORY VACCINES
(NAMV) YOUTUBE VIDEO 1-25-14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI-LcawkWUg
CONCLUSION
Legal Status is Tenuous
• Civil rights & religious challenges• Privacy challenges• Questionable efficacy• No legal mandate in most states
Affordable Care Act Standard
• Impacts financial incentives!!
OUR POSITION: NO MANDATES FOR FLU VACCINES!
Center for Disease Control. (n.d.). Influenza vaccination information for health care workers. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/healthcareworkers.htm
Childs, D., & Kansagra, S. (2007, September 20). 10 health advances that changed the world. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/TenWays/story?id=3605442
Coughlin, C. N., King, N. M., & Kemper, K. (2010). When doctors become "patients": Advocating a patient-centered approach for health care workers in the context of mandatory influenza vaccinations and informed consent. Wake Forest Law Review. Wake Forest Law Review Association, Inc.Health Impact News. (2013). Are Mandatory Flu Vaccines for Healthcare Workers part of Obamacare and Linked to Financial Reimbursement to Healthcare Facilities? Retrieved February 25, 2014, from Health Impact News: Are Mandatory Flu Vaccines for Healthcare Workers part of Obamacare and Linked to Financial Reimbursement to Healthcare Facilities?Kong, S. (2011). A winter predicament global uptake of the flu jab is low but, argues susie kong,
compulsory vaccination is not the answer to cutting infection. Nursing Management,18(7), 9.
REFERENCES
Law Offices of James Elsman. (2014, January 24). PR Newswire. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from PR Newswire Services: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ law-offices-of-james-elsman-announces-suit-nurse-refuses-shots----sues-hospital-federal-and-state-
governments-for-100000000-claiming-flu-shots-have-many-dangers-and-questionable-advantages-241470971.html
Malloy, A. (2013, December 29). Pregnant nurse: I was fired for refusing flu vaccine. CNN Health. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/29/health/pregnant-nurse-flu-vaccine-refusal/
Mastroianni, Peggy R. (2012, March 5). Title vii: Religious Accomodation. EEOC informal discussion letter, 1-5. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/foia/letters/2012/religious_accomodation.html
Mercola, J. (2012). Tell your doctor: If you don’t show me this, you’re breaking the law. Retrieved from http://www.article.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/25/defending- vaccine-exempt.qspx
National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC). (2011, September 13-14). National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) September 13–14, 2011, Meeting Minutes . Retrieved February 25, 2014, from United States Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/nvac/meetings/pastmeetings/nvac_meeting201109_certified-minutes.pdf
REFERENCES
Randall, L., Curran, E., & Omer, S. (2013). Legal considerations surrounding mandatory influenza
vaccination for healthcare workers in the united states. Vaccine, 31, 1771-1776.
Newswire. (2012). Joint commission r3 report explains new flue vaccine requirements.
Healthcare Purchasing News, 36(7), 6.
Ottenberg, A., Wu, J., Poland, G., Jacobson, R., Koenig, B., & Tilburt, J. (2011, February).
Vaccinating health care workers against influenza: The ethical and legal rationale for a
mandate. American Journal of Public Health, 101(2), 212-216.
Perry, J., & Prenkert, J. (2013). Clarifying the ethics and law of healthcare employee flu shot refusals.
Retrieved from http://www.amu.edu/BioethicsBlog/post.cfm/clarifying-the-ethics-and-law-
of-healthcare-employee-flu-shot-refusals
Randall, L., Curran, E., & Omer, S. (2013). Legal considerations surrounding mandatory influenza
vaccination for healthcare workers in the united states. Vaccine, 31, 1771-1776.
Showalter, J. S. (2012). The law of healthcare administration (6th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Health
Administration Press.
Williams, K. L. (2013, May). The variable efficacy of current influenza vaccines result in
mandatory flu vaccination policies for heatlh care workers being difficult to justify. Health Law
Perspectives: University of Houston Law Center. Retrieved from http://
www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/homepage.asp
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