The Responsibilities of public health
Some of the responsibilities of public health that can be characterized by the spectrum of operations carried out by health agencies include assessment, the formulation of policies, and leadership, in addition to providing access to services in the areas of environmental, educational, and personal health.
The public health system throughout the country is significantly influenced by the activities and policies of the federal government. Its mission includes, among other things, the conducting of research in the medical field, the establishment of standards, the enactment of legislation, the provision of funding for and on occasion the delivery of personal health services, the provision of technical assistance, and resources for state and local healthcare systems.
This paper discusses five different agencies of health authorities at the federal, state, and local levels, including the activities they carry out and how their jobs affect APRN and those with mental health.
Keywords: agency, federal, government, health
Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
The United States Health and Human Services (HHS) serves as a government agency charged with improving the health of Americans. Health outcomes are the agency’s primary emphasis in more than 100 initiatives that are available to the public. Aside from making health laws and guidelines, the agency has also been granted the authority to regulate the health industry and public health programs.\
It has enacted rules such as the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects personal health information and provides individuals with a number of rights.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
This organization is known as the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA for short. In addition to medical devices, this agency is responsible for regulating things such as food, drugs, cosmetics, and similar products. In order to protect the health of the general population, it is the responsibility of the agency to investigate and confirm that these products are both safe and effective.
Graduates of APRN and DNP programs should be aware of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since it sets guidelines for the safety and effectiveness of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is relevant to advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that it establishes guidelines for the safe and effective use of pharmaceuticals and other types of medical technology.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
There is a regulatory body inside the government that is in charge of health insurance and the provision of medical services. Within the United States’ national healthcare system, this agency is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of patients’ medical records. Because it creates criteria for preserving the privacy of patient health information, HIPAA is a significant piece of legislation for graduates of APRN and DNP programs.
Because it specifies guidelines for the exchange of patients’ health information, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is related to APRNs.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
This organization is formally known by its full name, which is “The National Institutes of Health” (NIH). The agency’s scope of control extends to include biomedical research as well as research that is relevant to health. Research into the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and disorders within the healthcare system of the United States is one of the core functions of the agency, which is also responsible for providing funding for such research.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an organization that is pertinent to the APRN/DNP graduate since the NIH funds and conducts research on the health care needs of the community. The fact that the NIH is both sponsoring and carrying out research to evaluate how effective APRN care is an essential component of the work that it is doing in this area.
Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
As a branch of the federal government, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It contributes to preserving and enhancing the well-being of the American people as well as ensuring their safety. Two more major tasks of the organization are conducting scientific study on emerging health difficulties and providing guidance on how best to address public health concerns. At this time, they are working on implementing regulations and processes that will assist them in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak.
| The Agency | Level of authority | Scope of Authority | Role | Relevance to APRN/DNP | Relevance to specialty area (Mental Health) |
| 1. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) |
National | Focuses on the health and well-being of all Americans of by regulation services to include prevention of epidemics, facilitate research, and social security services.
The institution also manages eleven operating departments including Medicare and Medicaid services, CDC, and Administration for Children and Families.
| U.S. HHS’s objective is to improve the health and well-being of the American people by delivering effective health and human services and encouraging sound, long-term improvements in the sciences underpinning medicine, public health, and social services. | This department contains eleven operating departments, including the Center for Medicaid and Medicare services (CMS). This program currently provides health insurance to 1 in every 4 Americans. This affects the APRN because they will be able to provide care to more people and be able to bill CMS directly. | This department ensure that clinical trials employ medications and medical equipment in a safe and effective way by creating rules for their usage.
The CMS also provides health coverage so patients with mental illness can get the care they need and be able to afford their prescriptions. |
| 2. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) | National | Focuses on food and medication safety legislation. | Supports research and development to improve the safety, cost and effectiveness of foods and medicines to improve public health | The FDA provides APRN with rules and regulations relating to the most current data on foods and medications that are safe and effective to deal with patient’s health.
| FDA establishes the guidelines for the use of drugs and medical devices in the treatment of patients with mental health. |
| 3. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) | State | The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was a piece of federal legislation that mandated the establishment of national standards with the intention of preventing the disclosure of sensitive patient health information without the patient’s consent or knowledge.
These standards were designed to protect the privacy of patients’ medical records.
| Eliminate job-locking due to pre-existing medical issues by ensuring that health insurance is portable. Reducing healthcare fraud and misuse.
| HIPAA ensures that APRNs keep patients’ information regarding their health confidential.
HIPAA also created criminal penalties for the improper disclosure of patient’s information, so APRN must maintain patient’s privacy at all times and follow the appropriate steps when disclosing patient’s information to authorized individuals.
| Acts such as HIPAA protect the privacy of patients’ medical records by establishing standards for how they may be shared.
This ensures that patients with mental illness are entitles to their privacy regarding their health. |
| 4. National Institutes of Health (NIH) | National and state
| Contributes to the advancement of medical knowledge and treatment by conducting and funding healthcare research.
The NIH also oversees the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
| Research causes and remedies for both common and uncommon illnesses.
Work to uncover new methods of disease prevention.
| Research carried out by the NIH helps the APRN gain knowledge about the most up-to-date treatments available for various conditions. | Research supported by the NIH help to enhance treatments of patients, including those with mental conditions. |
| 5. Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) | National | Preventing and reacting to new infections is the main focus. | The agency is in charge of keeping track of diseases, birth deformities, and genetics, as well as passengers’ well-being and improving emergency response and readiness. | The CDC is one of the most important agencies in healthcare. They regulate treatment and identify protocols to deal with any and all illnesses. This is important to an APRN because they have to follow and abide by the rules set in place by the CDC for the treatments of various health conditions, for example, controlling the COVID-19 outbreak. | The CDC provides statistics regarding the effect of mental health in the United States.
It also helps with policies regarding new treatments for mental conditions.
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References
Furnival, J., Boaden, R., & Walshe, K. (2018). Assessing improvement capability in healthcare organisations: a qualitative study of healthcare regulatory agencies in the UK. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 30(9), 715-723.
Macrae, C. (2019). Reconciling regulation and resilience in health care. In Resilient health care (pp. 111-122). CRC Press.
Pesapane, F., Volonté, C., Codari, M., & Sardanelli, F. (2018). Artificial intelligence as a medical device in radiology: ethical and regulatory issues in Europe and the United States. Insights into imaging, 9(5), 745-753.
