Long Term Care and the Law: A Legal Guide For Health Care Professionals
George D. Pozgar
Aspen Publishers, Rockville, MD
1992, 498 pp., $45
The first third of this book is a broad review of general business and corporate law, addressing history, terms, and principles. The balance of the book is a fairly comprehensive look at nursing homes and legal issues. The most enjoyable and informative aspect of the text is the 150 legal cases specifically related to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. George D. Pozgar uses cases as recent as 1991, increasing the book's relevancy.
In the preface Pozgar writes that he will publish a newsletter to update readers on long-term care legal issues. This service is critical for long-term care facilities because the legal environment continues to change dramatically. Litigation has been increasing significantly in the past year, and a newsletter outlining current cases will be helpful.
The most significant weakness in Long Term Care and the Law is the lack of prescriptive advice for administrators. The book stops short of providing administrators a means for reducing their legal liability and prioritizing the legal issues they should address.
An important subject Pozgar did not fully address in the text was the whole body of contract law. Administrators are entering regularly into significant contracts, and good advice on analyzing contracts would help them avoid legal difficulties in the areas of employee relations, service contracts, or negligent acts in the nursing area. Overall, Pozgar's text is strongest in addressing the issue of negligence, but it is weakest in labor relations and contracts.
Still, Pozgar's book is an excellent primer on legal issues for long-term care administrators. Perhaps the weaknesses in the text will be effectively addressed in the newsletter.
Dan Gray
Chief Executive Officer
Alexian Village of Tennessee
Signal Mountain, TN