The Centers for Disease Control: Regulatory Agency

Table of Contents

CDC
OSHA
ACHC
CMS
FDA
References

CDC

CDC is the abbreviation for the Centers for Disease Control. The given regulatory agency remains one of the most important institutions related to healthcare in the United States as it the range of its responsibilities is definitely broad (About CDC 24.7, 2017). The agency is headquartered in Atlanta, and it was established more than seventy years ago. Speaking about the primary goals that the agency is supposed to achieve, its employees primarily work with information in order to improve healthcare practices in the country.

The organization includes more than twenty divisions that are supposed to fulfil different tasks. As for the level of the regulatory authority of the given organization, it is necessary to highlight its importance for the sphere of healthcare in the United States as CDC operates on the federal level. As for its regulatory authority, it is necessary to say that the agency has the right to participate in a number of activities related to healthcare.

More than that, its regulatory scope has been extended recently; nowadays, the agency is supposed to solve problems in the sphere of environmental protection as well. Being the agency that processes a lot of information on all types of diseases, including the contagious ones, the organization plays an important role within the US healthcare system. Also, CDC is relevant to the DNP graduate as its employees provide a lot of valuable data on health situations that can be used during the research. The same is true for the setting of practice the materials by CDC can be actively used by nurses and other healthcare specialists.

OSHA

OSHA or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is one of the leading organizations in the United States that are supposed to work on the problems related to safety and security protection at work (What we do, n.d.). The given institution is one of the agencies in the Department of Labor, and it was established more than forty years ago. The agency is headquartered in Washington, and the number of its employees exceeds two thousand. As for its regulatory authority, this agency also operates on the federal level. Speaking about its scope of regulatory authority and the mission of the agency, it is necessary to say that OSHA is supposed to fulfil a range of tasks related to the working environment in the United States, occupational health, and safety.

Therefore, the agency is expected to take an active part in the development of safety standards applied in the country and ensure that all the employees are provided with appropriate and safe labor conditions. More than that, the agency has to carry out inspections and apply penalties to those companies that fail to comply with the requirements. Considering this enormous contribution to labor safety, its role within the healthcare system in the United States is difficult to overestimate. Also, the activity of the agency is relevant to the DNP graduate as it protects the rights of all employees within the United States and may involve career opportunities for new specialists. Apart from that, its activity can be closely interconnected with different areas of practice as the regulations elaborated by the agency apply to all organizations.

ACHC

ACHC or Accreditation Commission for Health Care is a non-commercial institution that is supposed to be responsible for accrediting organizations providing a range of healthcare services (Programs and services, n.d.). The given agency was created more than thirty years ago, and it started accrediting organizations two years after. Apart from that, it is necessary to mention that the discussed organization provides services on the federal level. As for the scope of the regulatory authority of the agency, it needs to be noted that the latter is allowed to accredit different types of companies related to healthcare.

For instance, about ten years ago, the decision authority of the agency has been expanded nowadays, it has the right to accredit companies that produce or distribute medical devices. Considering the fact that ACHC is expected to prevent the activity of unconscientious healthcare providers, its role within the US healthcare system is significant. More than that, the agency is relevant to the DNP graduates as the latter start working in organizations accredited by ACHC. Apart from that, it is important for every healthcare specialist to be aware of the requirements specified by ACHC as the latter are strictly interconnected with the quality of service.

CMS

CMS or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is one of the most important agencies within the healthcare system in the United States. The given agency was established more than fifty years ago and it is responsible for a wide range of tasks related to the control of healthcare programs implemented in the Unites States and elaboration of quality standards that healthcare providers working in the country are supposed to meet (About CMS, n.d.). As is clear from the background information on the agency, it operates on the federal level.

In reference to its role within the healthcare system in the United States, it needs to be said that the activity of the agency is extremely important for the system as it helps to improve the quality of healthcare in the country significantly. Besides, its activity is also relevant to the DNP graduates because specialists working for the agency establish and review the requirements that need to be met by a large number of healthcare providers in the United States. Obviously, these requirements should be considered by healthcare specialists such as nurses during the work, and this is why they are relevant to many areas of practice.

FDA

FDA or Food and Drug Administration is the organization that has been established in order to promote health among the population of the United States and to ensure that alimentary products and medicinal drugs produced and distributed in the country meet all the requirements related to quality and involve no health risks (FDA organization, 2016). Just like other agencies mentioned in the paper, FDA operates on the federal level and it is allowed to conduct its activities in all parts of the country.

Considering the importance of the control of food quality, it is necessary to state that FDA plays an important part within the healthcare system of the United States. Its activity is relevant to the DNP graduates because it controls operation of many laws related to food and drug safety standards and its employees provide information that can be used during the research. As for the way that it is connected with setting of practice, its activity is especially important for people whose work has strong links with pharmacology. In addition, the regulations provided by the given agency have an influence on the work of healthcare professionals in different settings of practice as problems related to food and reaction to medicinal drugs are common in patients with different diseases.