Ethics and Legal Issues in Respiratory Care

Flashcards on Ethics and Legal Issues in Respiratory Care

Ethics

A discipline of philosophy concerned with how we should act, described as a moral principle that supplements the golden rule and is a commitment to ‘respect the humanity in persons.’

State Statutes Role

Regulate individual conduct, regulate the practice of therapists, set minimum standards for competent practice and requirements for continuing education.

Code of Ethics

A set of rules and general principles necessary to ensure that the health needs of the public are provided in an effective, caring manner in order to limit competition, restrict advertisement, provide rules for conduct.

Autonomy Principle

Acknowledges patients’ personal liberty and their right to decide their own course of treatment and is the basis for informed consent.

Veracity Principle

Binds health care provider and patient to be truthful and requires that the health care provider tell the consenting individual the whole truth about the choices inherent in medical care.

Nonmaleficence

Requires health care providers to avoid harming the patient although it is difficult to uphold because drugs, medical treatment, and procedures have secondary effects that may be perceived as harmful.

Beneficence

Raises the do-no-harm requirement to a higher level and requires health care workers to contribute to the health and well-being of their patients, leading to the development of advanced directives.

Confidentiality

Requires health care workers to respect the patient’s right to privacy.

Justice

Involves fair distribution of care, balancing health care expenses and ability to pay.

Formalism

Ethical viewpoint that relies on rules and principles where an act is justifiable only if it upholds applied rules or principles.

Consequentialism

An ethical viewpoint where an act is judged to be right or wrong based on its consequences

Virtue Ethics

An ethical viewpoint that asks what a virtuous person would do in a similar circumstance involving personal attributes of character or virtue.

Intuitionism

An ethical viewpoint that holds there are certain self-evident truths, usually based on moral sayings like 'Treat others fairly.'

Rule utilitarianism approach

Asks not which act has the greatest utility, but which rule would promote the greatest good.

Negligence

The failure to use a degree of skill and learning ordinarily used under the same or similar circumstance by the members of defendant’s position.

Malpractice

Involves professional misconduct, unreasonable lack of skill or fidelity in professional duties, evil practice or unethical conduct.

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 establishing standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information.

Respondeat superior

Legal theory that the master must answer for the actions of the RT.

Scope of Practice

General guidelines and parameters for the clinician's practice; requirements and qualifications for licensure, exemptions, grounds for administrative action, creation of examination board and processes, penalties and sanctions for unauthorized practice.

NLRA

National Labor Relations Act, providing protection to hospital workers, even if they do not belong to a union.