Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

Legal Responsibilities

those that are authorized or based on law

Health care professionals/workers

______ ____ _____________________ are required to know and follow the state laws that regulate their respective licenses or registrations or set standards for their respective profession

tort

occurs when a person is harmed or injured because a health care provider does not meet the established or expected standards of care

malpractice

“bad practice”, commonly called “professional negligence”

examples of malpractice

a physician not administering a tetanus injection when a patient has a puncture wound or a nurse performing minor surgery without having any training

examples of negligence

falls and injuries that occur when side rails are left down, using or not reporting defective equipment, infections caused by the use of nonsterile instruments and/or supplies, and burns caused by improper heat or radiation treatment.

consent

patients must give _______ for any care and they have the right to refuse care

written consent

some procedures or practices require written consent from the patient

examples of things that require written consent

surgery, certain diagnostic tests, experimental procedures, treatment of minors

verbal consent

permitted in other cases, but the law states that this must be “informed consent”

withdraw

a person has the right to _______ consent at any time

assault and battery examples

performing a procedure after a patient has refused to give permission and improper handling or rough treatment of a patient while providing care

invasion and privacy examples

improperly draping or covering a patient during a procedure so that other patients or personnel can see the patient while exposed, sending information regarding, a patient to an insurance company without the patient’s written permission, or informing thew news media of a patient’s condition without the patient’s consent.

false imprisonment examples

keeping patients hospitalized against their will, or applying physical restraints without proper authorization or with no justification

physical abuse

hitting, forcing people against their will, restraining movement, depriving people of food or water, and/or not providing physical care

verbal abuse

speaking harshly, swearing or shouting, using inappropriate words to describe a person’s race or nationality, and/or writing threats of abusive statements

psychological abuse

threatening harm; denying rights; belittling; intimidation, or ridiculing the person; and/or threatening to reveal information about the person

sexual abuse

any unwanted sexual touching or act, using sexual gestures, and/or suggesting sexual behavior

the individual in the health care facility responsible for reporting the suspicions to the proper authorities

health care working are required to report an signs or symptoms of abuse to their immediate supervisor or to ___ __________ __ ___ ______ ____ ________ ___________ ___ _________ ___ _________ __ ___ _____ __________

offer, acceptance, consideration

three parts of a contract

offer

a competent individual enters into a relationship with a health care provider and offers to be a patient

acceptance

the health care provider gives an appointment or examines or treats the patient

consideration

the payment made by the patient for the services provided

legal disability

a person with this does not have the legal capacity to form a contract

legal disability examples

minors, mentally incompetent persons, individuals under the influence of drugs that alter the mental state, and semiconscious or unconscious people

breached

when a contract is not performed according to agreement

breach contract

failure to provide care and/or giving improper care on the part of the health care provider, or failure on the part of the patient to pay according to the consideration, can be considered

principal

employer

agent

employee

privileged communications

comprise all information given to health care personnel by a patient

written consent of the patient

what is required in order to share privileged information

births and deaths, injuries caused by violence that may require police involvement, drug abuse, communicable diseases and sexually transmitted diseases

exempt information

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

establishes standards to protect health information

sign

a patient must ____ for their medical information to be released

Patients Bill of Rights

the American Hospital Association has affirmed a _________ _____ _____ _______ that is recognized and honored by many health care facilities

omnibus budget reconciliation act of 1987

guarantees residents in long-term care facilities certain rights. a copy must be posted in each facility. every long-term care facility must inform residents or their guardian of these rights. often called a Resident’s Bill of Rights

living will, and a durable power of attorney

two main advance directives for health care

POA

to meet legal requirements, this must be signed by the principal, agent, and one or two adult witnesses

a living will

must be signed when the individual is competent and witnessed by two adults who cannot benefit from the death

Only perform procedures you are qualified to do, use correct methods, obtain proper authorization

identify the patient and get their consent, observe all safety precautions, be confidential, think before you speak, show no favoritism, accept no tips or bribes, report mistakes, dress professionally.

basic standards to follow at all times to protect yourself, your employer and the patient

liability insurance

constitutes an additional form of protection against errors leading to legal action. This is voluntary

civil law

health care is mainly affected by _____ ___

Patient Self Determination Act of 1990

mandates all health care facilities inform every adult, both orally and in writing, of their right under state law to make decisions concerning medical care, including the right to refuse treatment and right-to-die options.

ethics

a set of principles relating to what is morally right or wrong

confidentiality

information about the patient must remain private and can be share only with other members of the patient’s health care team.

scope of practice

procedures, processes, and actions that health care providers are legally permitted to perform in keeping with the terms of their professional license or registration

contract

agreement between two or more parties

torts

wrongful acts that do not involve contracts

slander

spoken defamation

defamation

a false statement

libel

written defamation

legal

authorized or based on law

assault

threat or attempt to injure

negligence

failure to give expected care

battery

the unlawful touching of another person without consent

criminal law

focuses on crime (wrongs against a person)

civil law

focuses on legal relationships between people and the protection of a person’s rights

implied consents

understood without verbal agreement

expressed consents

stated in clear and distinct language

health care providers

who has ownership of health care records

3 advantages associated with a health information exchange

patient access to the EHR, information for research and public health monitoring, reduction in health care costs due to eliminating repetition of the same tests in different facilities

photos ids, bar code scanning on their wristband, checking name bands

3 ways to identify a patient