Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL
Part I - General Administration
Subpart 5 - Health Planning
Chapter 113 - State Health Policy Analysis
Subchapter A - Statutory Sources for Louisiana Health Policy
Section I-11303 - Methodology

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code I-11303

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

A. Health planning should emerge from the analysis and interpretation of health policy if policy, as a guiding principle, is considered to be a standing plan. However, analysis and interpretation are dependent upon some conclusion as to how to conceptualize that policy. Therefore based on considerations discussed in the "Introduction" Section of this Chapter, the following definition was adopted.

1. State Health Policy-a system of interacting and interdependent authoritative decisions relating to health care delivery, promotion of the public health, and protection of the public health, as codified in state legislation.

B. Based, on this definition the Louisiana Revised Statutes were considered to be the primary source of information on Louisiana State Health Policy. [For additional sources of information on health policy as articulated by state agencies see State Agency Documents Printed and Intended for Public Distribution.] Accordingly an inventory of state statutes relating to health care delivery, health promotion and protection was undertaken. As the following tables illustrate, and as was to be expected, given the stratiform character of policy development, the statutes related to health are many and varied, having developed over time and being reflective of the various and potentially conflicting philosophies which prevailed at different points in time.

C. Because of the number and diversity of the statutes related to health care, it became necessary to develop a framework within which to organize the subject matter. Within an analytic framework future analysis can be facilitated and any conflicts, inconsistencies, gaps, and other problems identified. The analytic framework developed and used in the following tables is derived from the conceptual model of social processes developed by David G. Gil. Gil delineates three universal categories which encompass all societal processes, and which all social policies should address:

1. Resource Development: This process involves the development of material and symbolic, life-sustaining and life enhancing resources, goods, and services and all decisions and courses of action concerning their type, quality and quantity. Decisions concerning the selective utilization and preservation of the natural environment are involved in this process, as are decisions concerning the acceptable levels of social, ecological, and economic costs of various productive activities.

2. Status Allocation: This process involves assignment of individuals and groups to specific tasks which must be performed in order to develop and distribute throughout society, the life-enhancing resources, goods and services and to ensure society's survival.

3. Rights Distribution: This process involves the distribution to individuals and groups, of specific rights to material and symbolic, life-sustaining and life-enhancing resources, goods, and services.

D. All Louisiana statutes regarding health care and health related matters were analyzed to determine into which of the three categories, as defined above, they should fall. In doing so each statute or group of statutes was reviewed in order to determine its broad objective or goal (see Table columns entitled "Objectives"). If the objective related to resource development, that statute was so categorized; if related to status allocation it was assigned to that category; and, if to rights distribution, accordingly. Statutes whose objective addressed more than one category were assigned to the one to which they were determined to be primarily related. In making this determination the following assumptions were used:

1. that the general population of a state is its "Human Resource", and that, therefore, all statutes having an objective related to promotion of the public health or prevention of health problems should be assigned to the category "Resource Development";

2. that the licensing of health care professionals, while involving status allocation issues, is primarily a quality assurance measure aimed at preserving the quality of health care resources and protecting the human resource, and that statutes providing for such licensing should therefore be assigned to the category "Resource Development";

3. that statutes dealing with protection of the environment are concerned with issues related not only to how natural resources are to be used, but also with protection of the human resources of the state and should therefore be assigned to the category "Resource Development";

4. that statutes which create public facilities or services for specific population groups, while they do provide for additional health care resources, are primarily concerned with access to services as an entitlement for those groups, and should, therefore be assigned to the category "Rights Distribution".

E. The following tables were utilized to organize the statutes by "Key Process" categories. Within the tables the statutes are further organized by area of concern or problem (column entitled "Target Area") and, within the target area by its location in the statutes ("Statutory Reference"). For each statutory reference the broad objective or goal ("Objective") and how the objective is to be achieved and with what resources ("Statutory Provisions") is explained.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with P.L. 93-641 as amended by P.L. 96-79, and R.S. 36:256(b).

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