HIPAA Compliance & Encryption

Encrypted Communication

Use ____ email systems (e.g., HIPAA-compliant providers like Microsoft Office 365 or Google Apps) to secure PHI during transmission.

Unencrypted Communication

If a patient prefers ____ email, notify them of the risks (e.g., potential unauthorized access) and document their decision in the medical record

Torts

understanding legal liability for unintentional or intentional harm caused to patients .

Unintentional Harm

This occurs when a healthcare provider fails to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm without malice

Misdiagnosis

A doctor incorrectly diagnosing a tumor as benign, leading to delayed treatment and advanced cancer.

Medication Errors

A nurse administering the wrong dosage of insulin, causing hypoglycemia.

Surgical Errors

Leaving a surgical tool inside a patient after an operation

Failure to Warn

A physician prescribing medication without informing the patient about driving risks, leading to a car accident

For negligent tort liability, four elements must present

Duty, Breach, Injury sustained, Cause

Duty

what should have been done

Breach

deviation from duty

Cause

as a result of breach

Malpractice

claims are lawsuits by a patient against a medical practitioner errors in diagnosis.

Negligence

cases are those in which a person believes that a medical professional did not perform an essential action or performed an improper thus harming the patient.

examples of malpractice

Postoperative complication, Res ipsa loquitur,

Postoperative complication

a patient starts to show signs of internal bleeding in the recovery room. The incision is reopened, and it is discovered that the surgeon did not complete closure of all the severed capillaries at the operation site.

Res ipsa loquitur

refers to a case in which the doctor’s fault is completely obvious. For example, if a lung cancer patient has to have the right lung removed an the the surgeon instead remove the left lung , the patient will most likely sue the surgeon for malpractice.

Abandonment and Delayed treatment

The following are examples of negligence:

Abandonment

a health-care professional who stops care without providing an equally qualified substitute can be charged with ___

Delayed treatment

a patient shows symptoms of some illness or disorder, but the doctor decides, for whatever reason, to delayed treatment. If the patient later learns of the doctor’s decision to wait, the patient may believe he has a negligence case.

Malfeasance, Misfeasance, and Nonfeasance

Negligence cases are sometimes classified using the following three legal terms: