Unit 6 EMT - Allied Medical Training

abandonment

leaving a patient after care has been initiated and before the patient has been transferred to someone with equal or greater medical training.

advance directive

a DNR order; instructions written in advance of an event.

assault

placing a person in fear of bodily harm.

battery

causing bodily harm to or restraining a person.

confidentiality

the obligation not to reveal information obtained about a patient except to other health care professionals involved in the patient’s care or under subpoena or in a court of law or when the patient has signed a release of confidentiality.

consent

permission from the patient for care or other action by the EMT.

crime scene

the location where a crime has been committed or any place that evidence relating to a crime may be found.

do not resuscitate (DNR) order

a legal document, usually signed by both patient and physician, which states that the patient has a terminal illness and does not wish to prolong life through resuscitative efforts.

duty to act

an obligation to provide care to a patient.

ethical

regarding a social system or social or professional expectations for applying principles of right and wrong.

expressed consent

consent given by adults who are of legal age and mentally competent to make a rational decision with regard to their medical well-being.

Good Samaritan laws

a series of laws, varying by state, designed to provide limited legal protection for citizens and some health care personnel when they are administering emergency care.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law protecting the privacy of patient-specific health care information and providing the patient with control over how this information is used and distributed.

implied consent

the consent it is presumed a patient or patient’s parent or guardian would give if they could, such as for an unconscious patient or a child whose parents cannot be contacted when care is needed.

in loco parentis

literally ‘in place of a parent,’ indicating a person who may give consent for care of a child when the parents are not present or able to give consent.

liability

being held legally responsible.

libel

false, injurious information in written form.

moral

regarding personal standards or principles of right and wrong.

negligence

a finding that there was failure to act properly in a situation in which there was a duty to act, that needed care as would reasonably be expected of the EMT was not provided, and that harm was caused to the patient as a result.

organ donor

a person who has completed a legal document that allows for donation of organs and tissues in the event of death.

Physician’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

physician orders that state not only the patient’s wishes regarding resuscitation attempts but also the patient’s wishes regarding artificial feeding, antibiotics, and other life-sustaining care if the person is unable to state the person’s desires later.

res ipsa loquitur

a Latin term meaning ‘the thing speaks for itself.’

safe haven law

a law that permits a person to drop off an infant or child at a police, fire, or EMS station or to deliver the infant or child to any available public safety personnel. The intent of the law is to protect children who may otherwise be abandoned or harmed.

scope of practice

a set of regulations and ethical considerations that define the scope, or extent and limits, of the EMT’s job.

slander

false, injurious information stated verbally.

standard of care

for an EMT providing care for a specific patient in a specific situation, the care that would be expected to be provided by an EMT with similar training when caring for a patient in a similar situation.

tort

a civil, not a criminal, offense; an action or injury caused by negligence from which a lawsuit may arise.

Which type of consent must be used by the EMT when seeking to treat a mentally competent adult?

Expressed consent

Which of the following refers to the set of regulations that defines the legal actions expected of and limitations placed on the EMT?

Scope of practice

Your patient is a 40-year-old known diabetic who was found unconscious at work by a coworker. What type of consent allows you to treat this patient?

Implied consent

Your patient is a 10-year-old boy who suffered a possible fractured arm while rollerblading at a friend's house. Which of the following is the best way to obtain consent for treatment?

Call the patient's mother at work.

The EMT's obligation to provide care to a patient either as a formal or ethical responsibility is known as which of the following?

Duty to act

If the EMT is in doubt as to whether a patient in cardiac arrest should be resuscitated, which of the following is the best decision?

Begin resuscitative measures.

Which of the following situations best illustrate the act of abandonment by the EMT?

An EMT transports a patient to the emergency department, leaves the patient in the waiting room, but does not advise the ED staff.

Which of the following situations best illustrate the act of abandonment by the EMT?

An EMT begins care of a patient, then fails to turn the patient over to a paramedic.

Two EMTs respond to the scene of a syncopal episode. They evaluate a 50-year-old male patient who passed out and cut his upper lip. The EMTs examine the patient and his vital signs are normal. The EMTs talk the patient out of an expensive ambulance ride and suggest he will save money by driving himself to the urgent care clinic for stitches for his lip rather than waiting all night in the emergency department as a nonemergency patient. The patient signs the EMS refusal form. The patient decides to see his own doctor the next morning but dies at his house from sudden cardiac arrest an hour later. Which of the following statements are true? Select the (2) answers that are correct.

The EMTs are negligent because there was proximate causation.

Two EMTs respond to the scene of a syncopal episode. They evaluate a 50-year-old male patient who passed out and cut his upper lip. The EMTs examine the patient and his vital signs are normal. The EMTs talk the patient out of an expensive ambulance ride and suggest he will save money by driving himself to the urgent care clinic for stitches for his lip rather than waiting all night in the emergency department as a nonemergency patient. The patient signs the EMS refusal form. The patient decides to see his own doctor the next morning but dies at his house from sudden cardiac arrest an hour later. Which of the following statements are true? Select the (2) answers that are correct.

The EMTs are negligent because they failed to act according to the standard of care.

An off-duty EMT is driving down the road when she sees a major vehicle accident. There are no Emergency Medical Responders on the scene yet. There are only Good Samaritans. The EMT is late for a doctor's appointment, so she decides that she will not stop and help. The driver of the vehicle dies before help arrives. One of the Good Samaritans notices her EMT license plates and writes them down as she passes by. The Good Samaritan is angry that the EMT did not stop and help and tries to get the EMT fired for not helping. Which of the following statements is true?

The EMT is not negligent because she did not have a duty to act.

Sharing information about a patient's medical history with your neighbor after you hear a call on a radio scanner would constitute which of the following?

Breach of confidentiality

In which of the following situations is it legal to share information about treatment you provided to a patient?

The patient provides written consent to release information to named personal representative

In which of the following situations is it legal to share information about treatment you provided to a patient?

The triage nurse at the emergency department asks about the care you provided to the patient.

Which of the following has specific requirements for storing, accessing, and sharing patient information?

HIPAA

While documenting a call, you add a false statement that was made about a local doctor. This could constitute which of the following?

Libel

You respond to the report of an unconscious female patient. You can acquire important medical information about the patient through which of the following?

Medical identification device

Which of the following information may be important to law enforcement officers investigating a crime scene?

What you touched and moved on the scene

Which of the following information may be important to law enforcement officers investigating a crime scene?

How you gained access to the scene

While treating a patient involved in a shooting at the patient's vacation home, which of the following actions will NOT interfere with the investigation of a crime scene?

Wearing gloves at the scene

Which of the following incidents might the EMT be legally required to report to law enforcement?

Your patient has facial and head injuries and states that her husband beat her with a telephone receiver.

Which of the following incidents might the EMT be legally required to report to law enforcement?

Your patient is a 82-year-old male who is wearing soiled clothes and tells you that his son hasn’t given him a proper meal in a week.

You respond to a bus accident with multiple patients. As you arrive at the scene, you are approached by a local politician who states that his wife has been involved. He tells you that if you will take care of her first, he will ensure that you get the promotion you are up for. This becomes what type of decision for you as an EMT?

Ethical

You are treating an elderly male patient in the back of your ambulance. En route, the patient becomes unresponsive. Upon arrival, the ED nurse asks you several questions about his condition. What should you do?

You should answer her questions because you may legally share the patient's medical condition with other pertinent health care providers