Ethical & Legal Issues in Healthcare

Adjudication

The final decision of a court, usually made after the trial of the case

The court’s final decision

Alternative dispute resolution

a practice involving several methods of resolving conflicts and disagreements to the satisfaction of all parties without using the court system

Appeal

the process by which a higher court is requested by a party to a lawsuit to review the decision made by the lower court.

Review by the higher court may result in affirmation, reversal, or modification of the lower court’s decision.

Appellant

the party who appeals from a lower court to a higher court

Appellee

the party against whom a case is appealed from a lower court to a higher court

Arbitration

the use of a neutral third party to hear both sides of a dispute and render a written decision, called an award.

The award is binding, but parties may appeal.

Audit trail

a record or catalog showing a sequence of user activity of a computer system, including who accessed what data, when such access occurred, and whether and what changes were made.

Certiorari

A writ issued by a higher court to a lower court requiring certification of the record in a particular case so that the higher court can review the record and correct any actions taken in the case that are not in accordance with law.

The Supreme Court of the U.S. uses the writ of certiorari to select the lower federal court and the state court cases it is willing to review.

Common Law

1. a law found in the courts’ decisions rather than in statutes (judge-made law)

2. English law adopted by the early American colonists, which is part of the U.S. Judicial heritage and forms the basis of much of U.S. law today.

Complaint

1. the initial pleading in a civil action, in which the plaintiff alleges a course of action and asks that the wrong done to him or her remedies by the court

2. a formal charge of a crime

Constitution

1. the system of fundamental principles by which a nation, state, or corporation is governed. A nation’s ;was must conform to its constitution.

2. The document setting forth the fundamental principles of goverence

3. the constitution of the united states

Contract

an agreement entered into, for adequate consideration, to do, or refrain from doing, a particular thing.

the transaction must involve an undertaking that is legal to perform, and there must be mutuality of agreement and obligation between at least two competent parties.

Contract Law

the branch of law concerned with agreements between two or more parties that creates some type of obligations to act or refrain from acting.

Counterclaim

a claim in lawsuit brought by the defendant against the plaintiff.

Court Structure

refers to a multitiered structure consisting of trial courts, intermediate courts of appeal, and supreme courts,

the multitiered structure is the same at both state and federal levels

Criminal Law

the branch of law that declares certain conduct injurious to the public order and provides specified punishment for those found to have engaged in such conduct

Deeming authority

the substitution of complying with the requirements and standards of an accrediting organization in lieu of complying with the Medicare Conditions of Participation issued by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Defendent

the person against whom an action is brought

Deponent

the person answering the questions in a deposition

Deposition

the discovery device in which one party subpoenas a witness to appear at a given time and place to testify under oath to uncover details of a case

Discovery

a means for providing a party, in advance of trial, which devices or tools used to obtain facts and information about the case from the other side to prepare for trial.

Examples include depositions, written interrogatories, production of documents or things, physical and mental examinations, and requests for admission.

Diversity jurisdiction

the jurisdiction of federal court arising from diversity of citizenship when the jurisdictional amount has been met.

ex: person from a different state in court in a different state

E-discovery

a form of discovery that focuses on information stores electronically, such as that contained in electronic health records and requires collecting, preparing, reviewing, and producing electronic documents in a variety of criminal and civil actions and proceedings.

Executive Branch

the branch of government responsible for enforcing and administering the laws

Federal question jurisdiction

refers to cases that question or involve a U.S. constitutional principle, treaty, federal rule, or regulation.

It also includes cases that would normally proceed in state court but did not because they occurred on federal land.

Felony

A crime of grave or serious nature punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year

Injunction

a court order that commands or prohibits some act or course of conduct.

It is preventive in nature and designed to protect a plaintiff from irreparable injury to his or her property of property rights by prohibiting or commanding the doing of certain acts. It is a form of equitable relief.

Interrogatories

a discord device consisting of one party submitting written questions about a lawsuit to another party of witness

Judicial branch

the branch of government responsible for interpreting the law through adjudication and resolution of disputes

Jurisdiction

1. the right of a court to adjudicate lawsuits of a certain kind

2. in a specific sense, the right of a court to determine a particular case; in other words, the power of the court over the subject matter of, property involved in, the case at bar

3. in a geographical sense, the power of court to hear cases only within a specific territorial areas

4. authority; control; power

5. district; area; locality. The term also applies to the authority of an administrative agency to hear and determine a case brought before it.

Jury instructions

the directions given to the jury by the judge before he or she sends the jurors out to deliberate and return a verdict, explaining the law that applies in the case and spelling out what must be proven and by whom.

Law

a system of principles and processes devised by organized society in dealing with disputes and problems without resorting to the use of force.

Legal process

stages through which a lawsuit passes.

Legislative branch is the branch of gov responsible for enacting laws.

Licensure

Licensure is the process by which authority, often at the state level, grants permissions that give a facility legal approval to operate.

Litigation

litigation hold: refers to the actions of a party who processes electronically stored info (ESI) to make efforts to prevent routine destruction and preserve ESI that may be discoverable even before the time when a lawsuit is filed.

Mediation

the use of a neutral third party to assist both sides of a dispute in resolving their differences and reducing their resolution to writing.

the resolution is based on the parties’ agreement

Mental examination

a discovery device used to evaluate the mental condition of plaintiff in a lawsuit when such condition is in question

Metadata

the unseen or hidden information in common computer files, which can indicate when a document was created or revised and can contain edits, notes, or other private data.

AKA: data about data

Misdemeanor

a crime of a less severe nature punishable by a fine or a term of imprisonment of less than a year.

Negotiation and settlement

These happen when the parties to a dispute work without the help of a neutral third party reach resolution of a dispute and memorialize and resolution.N

Notice of preservation

a letter notifying an adversary of the need to preserve relevant electronic evidence even if paper copies are available.

Order of garnishment

a written order directed to a third person to whom the losing party in a lawsuit is indebted that orders payment of the debt directly to the winning party

Order of preservation

a court order requiring a party to preserve relevant electronic and other evidence, regardless the party’s need to engage in routine deletion or destruction practices and procedures.

Ordinances

are the laws passed at the local level by legislative bodies such as city councils or boards or aldermen

Personal jurisdiction

the authority of a court over the parties to a lawsuit

Plaintiff

the person who brings a lawsuit

Pleadings

formal statements by the parties setting forth their claims or defenses.

The various kinds of pleadings in civil cases, and the rules governing them, are outlined in detail in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and, for pleadings in state courts, by the rules of civil procedure of several states. These rules of procedure abolished common law pleading.

Pretrial conference

A stage in a lawsuit prior to trial in which the status and issues of the case are discussed between the parties and the judge on a formal basis.

Private Law

AKA: civil law

consists of the body of rules and principles that governs the rights and duties between private parties.

Procedure Law

the portion of law that focuses on the steps through which a case passes

Criminal procedure law ranges from the initial investigation of a crime through trial, sentencing, and the eventual release of the criminal offender

Public Law

the body of rules and principles governing the rights and duties between a government and a private party orREQUES between two parts of government agencies.

It defines appropriate behavior between citizens, organizations, and government.

It includes criminal law, constitutional law, and government regulations

Request for admission

a discovery device involving. written questions submitted to another party of witness designed to obtain an admission of certain facts.

Res judicata

“the things has been adjudicated or decided”

The principle that a final judgment rendered on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction is conclusive of the rights of the parties and is an absolute bar in other actions based on the same claim, demand, or cause of action.

Satisfying the judgment

a method used by the winning party in a lawsuit to collect the amount of judgment awarded (in cases involving money or property)

Separation of powers

the division of powers between the three distinct branches of the US federal government—legislative, executive, and judicial—and the system of checks and balances that supports the division.

Service of process

a stage in a lawsuit involving the delivery of the summons and complaint.

Spoliation

refers to the wrongful destruction or material alteration of evidence or the failure to preserve property or data for another’s use as evidence when litigation is pending or reasonably foreseeable.

Stare decisis

means “standing by the decision”

it is the doctrine that judicial decisions stand as precedent for cases arising in the future. It is a fundamental policy of our law that, except in unusual circumstances, a court’s determination on a point of law will be followed by courts of the same or lower rank in later cases presenting the same legal issue, even though different parties are involved and many years have elapsed.

Statutes

Laws written by federal state legislatures.

They become effective upon the signature of the president (federal) and governor (state).

Subject matter jurisdiction

refers to the authority of a court over the questions at issue in a lawsuit.

Subpoena duces tecum

a written command requiring a witness to come to court to testify and at that time to produce for use as evidence the papers, documents, books, or records listed in the subpoena.

It is often used in the context of health information management to command the custodian of the records to produce a particular record at trial or deposition and provide testimony to the authenticity of the record produced.`

Substantive Law

the portion of law that creates, defines, and regulates rights and duties.

Criminal substantive law defines specific offenses, the general principles of liability, and the specific punishment.

Summons

1. in a civill case: the process by which an action is commenced and the defendant is brought within the jurisdiction of the court

   1. in a criminal case: involving a petty offense or infraction, process issued for the purpose of compelling the defendant to appear in court. In such a case, a summons is used as an alternative to arrest.

Trial

a hearing or determination by a court of the issues existing between parties to an action; an examination by a court of competent jurisdiction according to the law of the land, or the facts or law at issue in either a civil case or a criminal prosecution, for the purpose of adjudicating the matters in controversy.

Verdict

the final decision of a jury concerning questions of fact submitted to it by the court for determination in the trial of a case

***review this term within the module***

Words of authority

verbs found in statues, ordinance, rules and regulations that set forth duties, rights, prohibitions and responsibilities under law

Writ of execution

a written document that orders a sheriff or other local official to take property of the losing party of a lawsuit and sell it to satisfy the judgment