MA legal and ethics chapter 2

Law

a rulebook - what you must do

ethics

moral compass - right or wrong - what you should do

PCP - patient shield

The basics : high quality care, a clean/safe environment, involvement in their own care decisions

advanced directives - decisions made in advance DNR/DNI, living will, durable power of attorney (naming a decision maker)

Uniform anatomical gift act - organ donation rules, the patients choice of organ donation must be respected

PSDA - a fed law that requires clinics to give patients info about advanced directives

HIPPA (health insurance portability and accountability act)

Rule: info must be kept private and secure

Protects PHI (protected health info): name, address, phone #, SSN, medical records #

The penalty : fine from $100-1.5M dollar and up to 10 years in prison

HITECH act

rule: strict security specifically for EHR (electronic health records) expands penalties for improperly sharing digital records

GINA (genetic info nondiscriminatory act)

The rule: bans discrimination in jobs and health insurance based on a persons DNA or genetic info

Informed consent

Alias: conscoius, spoken, or signed agreement

rule: required for non routine treatments patient must truly understand

ESL rule: family/friends cannot translate, must be a professional translator

Implied consent

Alias: body language or emergency situations

Examples: rolling up a sleeve for a blood drawn or an unconscious person during an emergency

Adults with developmental disabilities (consent)

just because they have a disability doesn’t mean they can’t give consent, treat them like an adult, speak directly to the patient. If legally unable a legal representative must sign

Consent for minors standard minors (under 18)

cannot generally consent to treatment

requires parent, guardian, or proper adult to give consent

Consent for minors emancipated minors

legally independent, have kids, married, or live independently and support themselves financially

They can make their own independent healthcare decisions

Consent for minors mature minors

not legally independent, but considered mature enough for specific routine care (vaccines or birth control)

varies strictly by state and faculty policy

Civil

Ill sue you, tort

criminal

involved with the police, crimes

slander

spoken words that are untrue

Libel

written words that are untrue (social media posts)

Assault

the THREAT or use of words causing fear or harm

Battery

the intentional touching of patient without permission

Negligence

an unintended mistake, failure to provide proper care resulting in an unintended injury

Malpractice

professional failure, if a physican fails to meet the professional standard care, a doctor using non sterile equipment during surgery

Abandonment

Terminating a provider-patient relationship without giving the patient time to find new care within 30 days (the patient must sign it)

deposition

a statement given under oath to be used as evidence (questioning)

Subpoena

legal document commanding someone to appear in court or provide records (up to 7 years)

Statute of limitations

the max amount of time to file a lawsuit (2 to 6 years)

Plaintiff

the complainer, carry the burden of proof, who makes a charge of wrong doing

Defendant

the accused - the healthcare professional accused of wrong doing

Rapid RR

Tachypnea

Slow RR

Bradypnea

Normal RR

Eupnea

No RR

Apnea

Shortness of breath when lying down, but relieved by sitting up

Orthopnea

The series of going to court with a case

subpoena, statue of limitations, deposition, plaintiff, defendant

Res IPSA loquitur

the thing speaks for itself, the injury is very obvious

Respondeat superior

let the master answer, suing the employer not the employee

Different pathways to take a case

mediation, arbitration, litigation

Mediation

negotiation, a qualified mediator, reviews the case and helps the parties negotiate an outcome, parties can either accept it or reject it

Arbitraiton

private judge, a qualified arbitrator, review the case and decides and outcome, the decision is final and binding it must be accepted

Litigation

The courtroom, judge and jury, formal trail using plaintiff/defendant structure

Good samaritain laws

laws passed to protect individuals from liability when they provide medical aid in an emergency situation outside of work

What are the Samaritan laws

1. Care must be given to the best of the persons knowledge

2. you must act voluntarily

3. No expectation of a financial reward or mustn’t be paid before hand

Mandated reporter

a person who is legally required to report suspected harm

Abuse

physical or emotional, flinching, bruises, welts, cuts

Neglect

Failure to provide, lice, soiled diapers, clothes are dirty/don’t fit

Exploitation

financial or emotional control

Extremely urgent communicab

CPC notified within 4-24 hours, flu, genital herpes

What else should an MA report?

wounds of violence (stabs or gunshots), dogbites, animal bites, or bat bites

Incident report

documenting the unexpected, it goes in the hospital not the patients chart

Standard incedents

falls, broken equipment, blood exposure, only facts, what happened, time, patient reaction, doesn’t go in patients medical record

Sentinal events

unexpected occurrence resulting in grave physical or physcological injury or death, immediate need for investigation

Risk management

fixing problems, managing risks, enforcing policies, honoring patient rights, securing proper consent, maintaining confidential accurate and objective incident reporting

What are the rights all patients have?

right to protection of privacy

the right to a clean and safe enviorment

the right to high quality care

the right to involvement in care

the right to help with billing claims

Protection of privacy

patients medical history is private and anything that relates to it

The right to a clean and safe environment

The MA cleaning your room before entering or being injected with the right drug and not the wrong one

The right to high quality care

not being rude to patients and actually paying attention what is being administered to them

The right to involvement in care

No is a no, you stick up for them (kinda), and you listen to their needs

The right to help billing claims

You have the right to request itemized bills, review cost estimates, and ask about financial assistance policies they can help with billing claims