“A sexual assault of an individual.” “Providers shall report to the department and other relevant authorities as required by law that an individual alleges they were sexually assaulted, whether or not the alleged assault occurred within the provision of the provider’s services or on their property.”
The reporting of sexual assaults that occur on the premises of a provider or against those individuals for whom we have 24-hour responsibility would be appropriate but reporting of all sexual assaults revealed by our clients to DBHDS would pose a risk to therapy and violates an individual’s rights to privacy. Sexual assault is a legal term and what role should the provider have in investigating something that occurred in the community and should be investigated by the police. Regulations indicate assaults should be reported within 24 hours of discovery. Clients often reveal assaults years after they occur as part of therapy.
“E. A root cause analysis shall be conducted by the provider within 30 days of discovery of Level II and Level III serious incidents. The root cause analysis shall include at least the following information: (i) a detailed description of what happened; (ii) an analysis of why it happened, including identification of all identifiable underlying causes of the incident that were under the control of the provider; and (iii) identified solutions to mitigate its reoccurrence.”
For Level II incidents, there should be an accumulation of incidents to trigger a RCA such as two level 2 incidents w/in a 30 day period as an example. Also conducting an analysis on the expected deaths from natural causes of individuals in outpatient programs would be more burdensome to programs.
A serious injury of an individual that results in or likely will result in permanent physical or psychological impairment”. “For example, providers shall report if an individual had to have a leg amputated as a result of a car accident whether or not the car accident occurred within the provision of the provider’s services or on their property.”
There is ambiguity in what “results in or likely results in permanent physical or psychological impairment.” What determines when it causes or likely will cause “permanent” impairment? This should be spelled out more.
