Full Answer
What is safe harbor nursing peer review?
Safe harbor nursing peer review can be an opportunity to take stock of how nursing and support departments surrounding nursing are organized and how safe patient care is enhanced or hindered by those systems. Please DO NOT mail or fax your request for safe harbor nursing peer review documents to the Board of Nursing.
Is a safe harbor review binding or non binding?
However, the “non-binding” provision in this statute means that if the CNO/Nurse Administrator believes the safe harbor nursing peer review was conducted in “bad faith,” or the committee otherwise made an incorrect determination of the nurse’s duty, the committee’s decision is non-binding.
What is safe harbor for nurses?
This provision is called Safe Harbor. Nurses who accept or make assignments must consider patient safety. Frequently, nurses may be afraid to invoke Safe Harbor for fear of retaliation by a fellow nurse, a nursing supervisor, or the organization. Comprehensive review of the Safe Harbor provision is essential for all nurses.
When should safe harbor be invoked?
Safe harbor must be invoked prior to engaging in the conductor assignment for which nursing peer review is requested, and may be invoked at any timeduring the work period when the initial assignment changes. See Tex. Admin.

What is safe harbor peer review?
Safe harbor is a nursing peer review process that a nurse may initiate when asked to engage in an assignment or conduct that the nurse believes, in good faith, would potentially result in a violation of the Nursing Practice Act (NPA) or Board rules.
What is the purpose of safe harbor nursing?
Nurses can invoke safe harbor, in good faith, to protect their licenses if they find themselves in compromised practice situations where it is not in the best interest of patients for them to accept an assignment, e.g. working mandatory overtime, accepting expanded patient assignments, etc.
What is the purpose of nursing peer review?
Peer review is defined as "an organized effort whereby practicing professionals review the quality and appropriateness of services ordered or performed by their professional peers." In nursing, it is the “process by which practicing registered nurses systematically assess, monitor, and make judgments about the quality ...
What does it mean when a nurse calls safe harbor?
Safe harbor is a process that protects a nurse from. discipline by the Board and retaliation, suspension, termination, discipline, or discrimination from the employer. for invoking safe harbor in good faith. [
What does safe harbor mean in healthcare?
Safe harbor healthcare compliance protects providers from federal civil investigations and criminal prosecutions, as well as from civil money penalties and possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded health programs.
When can you claim safe harbor?
Safe harbor must be invoked prior to engaging in the conduct or assignment for which nursing peer review is requested, and may be invoked at anytime during the work period when the initial assignment changes.
Why is peer review important in healthcare research?
Peer review can help authors improve reporting quality, presentation clarity, and transparency, thereby enhancing comprehension and potential use by clinicians and scientists.
What is peer review and why is it important in evidence based practice?
Peer review is the process by which research is assessed for quality, relevancy, and accuracy. In a peer reviewed, or refereed journal, each manuscript submitted to the publisher is first reviewed anonymously by a group of experts - peers in the same field of study.
What do you say in a peer review?
14 examples of performance review phrases"I can always count on you to..." ... "You are a dependable employee who meets all deadlines." ... "Your customer service is excellent. ... "The accounting work that you do for our team helps us out in the long run." ... "I appreciate your helpfulness when it comes to training new employees.More items...•
How do you invoke safe harbor in nursing?
The law also allows a nurse to invoke the safe harbor when he or she questions the medical reasonableness of another healthcare provider's order that the nurse is required to execute. The nurse and supervisor document the date, time, location, and reason for the invocation of safe harbor.
What are the 5 elements required for a nurse to make a quick request for safe harbor?
Date/Time of Request; 3. Location of requested conduct/assignment; 4. Name of person/supervisor making assignment or requesting the conduct; 5. Brief explanation of why invoking Safe Harbor (It may be helpful to review rules 217.11 and 217.12.
Can a nurse refuse an assignment?
The American Nurses Association (ANA) upholds that registered nurses – based on their professional and ethical responsibilities – have the professional right to accept, reject or object in writing to any patient assignment that puts patients or themselves at serious risk for harm.
What protections are provided when a nurse properly invoke safe harbor?
(15) Safe Harbor--A process that protects a nurse from employer retaliation, suspension, termination, discipline, discrimination, and licensure sanction when a nurse makes a good faith request for nursing peer review of an assignment or conduct the nurse is requested to perform and that the nurse believes could result ...
What is OIG safe harbor?
The "safe harbor" regulations describe various payment and business practices that, although they potentially implicate the Federal anti-kickback statute, are not treated as offenses under the statute.
What are the 5 elements required for a nurse to make a quick request for safe harbor?
Date/Time of Request; 3. Location of requested conduct/assignment; 4. Name of person/supervisor making assignment or requesting the conduct; 5. Brief explanation of why invoking Safe Harbor (It may be helpful to review rules 217.11 and 217.12.
What states have safe harbor for nurses?
Safe Harbor Practitioner Exemption Laws Eleven states now protect consumer access to these practitioners on some level, including Oklahoma, Idaho, Minnesota, Rhode Island, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona (limited exemption for homeopaths only), Colorado, Nevada, and Maine.
What is peer review in nursing?
Nursing peer review is the evaluation of nursing services, the qualifications of a nurse, the quality of patient care rendered by a nurse, the merits of a complaint concerning a nurse or nursing care, and a determination or recommendation regarding a complaint including:
What is incident based peer review?
Incident-based nursing peer review focuses on determining if a nurse’s actions, be it a single event or multiple events (such as in reviewing up to five (5) minor incidents by the same nurse within a year’s period of time), should be reported to the Board or if the nurse’s conduct does not require reporting because the conduct constitutes a minor incident that can be remediated. The review includes whether external factors beyond the nurse’s control may have contributed to any deficiency in care by the nurse, and to report such findings to a patient safety committee as applicable.
How long does it take to file a rebuttal in a nursing peer review?
permit the nurse to file a written rebuttal statement within 10 calendar days of thenotice of the committee’s findings and make the statement a permanent part of theincident-based nursing peer review record to be included whenever the committee’sfindings are disclosed.
What is SHNPR in nursing?
Safe harbor nursing peer review (SHNPR), a process that protects a nurse from employerretaliation, suspension, termination, discipline, discrimination, and licensure sanction when anurse makes a good faith request for nursing peer review of an assignment or conduct the nurseis requested to perform and that the nurse believes could result in a violation of the NursingPractice Act (NPA) or Board rules. Safe harbor must be invoked prior to engaging in the conductor assignment for which nursing peer review is requested, and may be invoked at any timeduring the work period when the initial assignment changes.
What is a nursing peer review committee?
a report made by a nursing peer review committee to another committee or to the Board ofNursing (Board) as permitted or required by law; implementation of a duty of a nursing peer review committee by a member, an agent, or anemployee of the committee; and.
How many incidents must a nurse report to the board?
If a nurse commits five minor incidents within a 12-month period, the nurse must be reported to the nursing peer review in practice settings with nursing peer review. In practice settings with no nursing peer review, the nurse who commits five minor incidents within a 12-month period must be reported to the Board.
How long is an incident based peer review period?
the incident-based nursing peer review committee determines an extendedtime period (extending the 45 days by no more than an additional 45 days) isnecessary in order to consult with a patient safety committee; or
