Healthcare Law&Ethics Quiz 1

Ethics

The branch of philosophy that seeks to understand the nature, purposes, justification, and founding principles of moral rules and the systems they comprise

Meta-Ethics

What is Good?

Normative Ethics (Prescriptive)

Primarily concerned with established standards or norms for conduct

Descriptive Ethics

study of what people believe to be right and wrong and why they believe

Applies Ethics

deciding what ethical or moral actions are appropriate in a given situation

Consequential Ethics

whatever action leads to maximum of good over evil

Utilitarian Ethics

moral worth of an action is determined solely by its contribution to overall usefulness

Ethical Relativism

mortality is relative to the norms of the culture where one lives

Virtue Ethics

focus is on the character (goodness) of the person

Deontological Ethics

focuses on one’s duties to others

Morality

describes a class of rules held by society to govern the conduct of its individual members. (a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal)

Autonomy

involves recognizing the right of a per to make one’s own life decisions. Auto comes from a Greek word meaning “self” or the “individual.”

Nonmaleficence

the ethical principle that requires caregivers to avoid causing patients harm

Beneficence

describes the principle of doing good, demonstrating kindness, showing compassion, and helping others

Paternalism

a form of beneficence, people sometimes believe that they know what is best for another and make decisions that they believe are in the person’s best interest

Moral Perception

the capacity to recognize and experience the moral qualities of a situation, such as rightness or wrongness, directly through our senses rather than through abstract reasoning alone

Informed Consent

informed consent is a process in which a patient or research participant is provided with all the necessary information about a medical procedure, treatment, or research study to make an informed and voluntary decision

Implied Consent

agreement to something, like medical treatment or a legal procedure, that is not explicitly stated verbally or in writing but is inferred from a person's actions or the surrounding circumstances

Direct Verdict

also known as a judgment as a matter of law, is a ruling by a judge in a trial, typically made after the plaintiff has presented their case but before the jury deliberates. The judge essentially decides that one party has failed to present sufficient evidence to support their claim, and therefore, there's no need for the
jury to deliberate, effectively ending the trial in favor of the other party

Oral consent

the verbal agreement to a procedure, study, or disclosure of information after a researcher or professional provides all necessary details and answers questions, without the need for a signature on a written document

Plaintiff

a person who brings a case against another in a court of law. ("the plaintiff commenced an action for damages“)

Defendant

an individual, company, or institution sued or accused in a court of law. ("the defendant tried to claim that it was self-defense“)

Standard of Care

refers to the level of skill, knowledge, and caution that a reasonably prudent healthcare professional would exercise in a similar situation. It is a legal and ethical concept that defines what is considered acceptable medical practice

Common Knowledge Exception

a legal doctrine, primarily in medical malpractice cases, allowing a plaintiff to establish negligence without needing an expert witness because the wrongdoing is so obvious to a reasonable person that it doesn't require specialized medical knowledge to understand

Justice

the obligation to be fair in the distribution of benefits and risks

Distributive Justice

a principle requiring that all persons be treated equally and fairly. No one person, for example, should get a disproportionate share of society’s resources or benefits

Compliance Program

a formalized effort to prevent, detect, and respond to business conduct that is inconsistent with federal and state laws and with an organization’s values.

Ethical dilemma

arises in situations where a choice must be made between unpleasant alternatives, which occur when a choice involves giving up something good and suffering something bad

Reasonable man standard

requires informed consent for treatment

• Patients must be informed of the risks, benefits, and alternatives associated with recommended treatments

Summary judgment

a legal decision made by a court without a full trial. It happens when the judge determines that there are no significant facts in dispute and that one party is entitled to win as a matter of law

Advance Directive

written instructions expressing one healthcare wishes in the advent that he or she becomes incapacitated and is unable to make such decisions

Healthcare Proxy

allows a person to appoint a healthcare agent to make treatment decisions in the event he or she becomes incompetent and is unable to make decisions for him- or herself

Living Will

Instrument or legal document that describes treatments individual wishes or does not 

wish to receive should he or she become incapacitated and unable to communicate treatment decisions

Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order

physician orders not to resuscitate a patient in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest

Surrogate decision maker

an agent who acts on behalf of a patient who lacks the capacity to participate in a particular decision

Substituted judgement

a form of surrogate decision making where the surrogate (Agent) attempts to establish what decision the patient would have made if that patient were competent to do so. This conclusion can be based on the patient’s preference expressed in previous statements or the surrogate’s knowledge of the patient’s beliefs (e.g. Religious) and values