Med Laws and Ethics Chapter 3

1. What is one important reason for a medical assistant to study ethics?
A. To learn how to justify his or her actions—good or bad
B. To be able to criticize others effectively
C. To feel good about himself or herself
D. To develop the intellectual skills to analyze complex problems

Correct Answer: D — To develop the intellectual skills to analyze complex problems

2. What is the name of an individual’s own beliefs about right and wrong in our society?
A. Ethics
B. Morals
C. Etiquette
D. Laws

Correct Answer: B — Morals

3. Current thinking about biomedical ethics identifies several rights. What is a right?
A. A wish
B. A need
C. A requirement
D. A strong claim

Correct Answer: D — A strong claim

4. Early leaders of the American government believed in natural rights and the duty of any government to preserve them. Which of the following is NOT one of the rights?
A. Right to life
B. Right to privacy
C. Right to autonomy
D. Right to a share of society’s resources

Correct Answer: D — Right to a share of society’s resources

5. What is another name for the duty to meet reasonable expectations of patients?
A. Fidelity
B. Beneficence
C. Nonmaleficence
D. To do no harm

Correct Answer: A — Fidelity

6. What is the name for a patient’s right to make decisions about healthcare according to individual values and concerns?
A. Privacy
B. Autonomy
C. Requirements
D. Confidentiality

Correct Answer: B — Autonomy

7. What right is the basis for informed consent?
A. Right to life
B. Right to privacy
C. Right to autonomy
D. Right to the means to sustain life

Correct Answer: C — Right to autonomy

8. What is the name for the concept that a health professional should do the best possible?
A. Misfeasance
B. Nonfeasance
C. Malfeasance
D. Beneficence

Correct Answer: D — Beneficence

9. In today’s health care environment, it is seen as a proactive duty that physicians and other health care professionals must provide truthful information without having to be asked. This expectation of truthfulness by all health care workers is called
A. Beneficence
B. Fidelity
C. Veracity
D. Nonmaleficence

Correct Answer: C — Veracity

10. Informed consent is consent based on
A. Guarantees regarding outcomes
B. Understanding of a medical procedure and its possible outcomes
C. Promises that all possible procedures will be performed
D. Protection from all liability

Correct Answer: B — Understanding of a medical procedure and its possible outcomes

11. What type of consent occurs if a patient offers an arm when the medical assistant says it is time to obtain a blood sample?
A. Expressed consent
B. Informed consent
C. Implied consent
D. Indirect consent

Correct Answer: C — Implied consent

12. The experimental treatments that attempt to treat or cure disease by giving patients new genes or parts of genes that have been synthesized in the laboratory, taken from human tissue, or engineered from genetic material of animals or other species is called
A. Cloning
B. Gene therapy
C. Genetic engineering
D. Stem cell research

Correct Answer: B — Gene therapy

13. What is the minimum required for expressed consent?
A. Consenting body language
B. Verbal agreement
C. A written document that is signed
D. A signed document that has also been witnessed

Correct Answer: B — Verbal agreement

14. Which 1990 law recognizes the rights of adults to refuse treatment for disease?
A. Patient’s Right to Refuse Treatment Act
B. Patient’s Bill of Rights
C. Patient Self-Determination Act
D. Patient’s Right to Euthanasia Act

Correct Answer: C — Patient Self-Determination Act

15. In how many states is physician-assisted suicide legal?
A. Three
B. Four
C. Five or more
D. This practice is illegal in all states

Correct Answer: C — Five or more

16. What is the purpose of an advance directive?
A. States an individual’s wishes regarding healthcare if the individual is not able to speak for him or herself
B. Names an individual to make decisions for an individual if he or she becomes incapable of doing this
C. Expresses an individual’s wish to donate organs when he or she dies
D. States an individual’s wish to not be resuscitated if his or her heart stops beating
E. All of these

Correct Answer: E — All of these

17. What principle applies if a patient confides information about their health to a medical assistant and then asks the medical assistant not to tell the physician?
A. The medical assistant cannot ethically withhold medical information from the physician
B. The medical assistant’s first loyalty is to the patient
C. Patient confidentiality prevents the medical assistant from telling the physician
D. When personal and professional ethics clash, personal ethics take precedence

Correct Answer: A — The medical assistant cannot ethically withhold medical information from the physician

18. What is the branch of law that deals with offenses against the public welfare that affect all people?
A. Common law
B. Criminal law
C. Civil law
D. Statutory law

Correct Answer: B — Criminal law

19. What type of law refers to law arising from the actions of federal government agencies such as the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service?
A. Administrative law
B. International law
C. Common law
D. Criminal law

Correct Answer: A — Administrative law

20. Cities and towns enact laws that have to do with the general welfare of their citizens. What are these laws called?
A. Common laws
B. Bills
C. Acts
D. Ordinances

Correct Answer: D — Ordinances

21. What is the name for a serious crime punishable by death or imprisonment?
A. Tort
B. Breach of contract
C. Felony
D. Misdemeanor

Correct Answer: C — Felony

22. What is the name for the crime of billing an insurance company for tests and procedures that were never performed?
A. Grand larceny
B. Embezzlement
C. Abuse
D. Fraud

Correct Answer: D — Fraud

23. What is the legal nature of the provider-patient relationship?
A. A contract
B. A partnership
C. A professional association
D. None of these

Correct Answer: A — A contract

24. Which of the following patients would be able to give informed consent for treatment?
A. A 17-year-old boy
B. A 73-year-old woman with a serious mental condition
C. A 23-year-old man with Down syndrome
D. A 35-year-old woman with a hip fracture
E. All of these

Correct Answer: D — A 35-year-old woman with a hip fracture

25. How should a physician terminate a relationship with a patient to avoid a possible lawsuit for abandonment?
A. Obtain the patient’s written consent
B. Call the patient on the phone and inform him or her
C. Notify the patient in writing
D. The physician cannot terminate the physician-patient relationship

Correct Answer: C — Notify the patient in writing

26. What is the legal meaning of the word “liability?”
A. Malfeasance
B. Responsibility
C. Negligence
D. Prudence

Correct Answer: B — Responsibility

27. A physician has discontinued the care of a patient without properly notifying the patient. This is called
A. Malpractice
B. Abandonment
C. Illegal termination
D. Negligence

Correct Answer: B — Abandonment

28. In determining whether or not a cardiologist provided his patient with reasonable care, with whom would a physician be compared?
A. General practitioners
B. Other cardiologists in his community or similar communities
C. Cardiologists throughout the world
D. No one; the doctor’s actions would have to stand on their own merit

Correct Answer: B — Other cardiologists in his community or similar communities

29. Which of the following is NOT included in the Patient Care Partnership?
A. High-quality hospital care
B. Protection of your privacy
C. Compensation in cases of malpractice
D. A clean and safe environment

Correct Answer: C — Compensation in cases of malpractice

30. The term that refers to “the level of appropriate care legally required of any other practitioner with the same education and training providing the same care in the same geographic region” is
A. Standard of care
B. Scope of practice
C. Professional care
D. Contingent care

Correct Answer: A — Standard of care

31. Which of the following is the best description of informed consent?
A. The patient signs a “Permission to Operate” form
B. The patient is told in great technical detail about the treatment or operation
C. The patient is told by the physician about any risks, hazards, or possible complications associated with the treatment in terms that the patient fully understands before submitting to treatment
D. The patient dictates his or her consent to the medical assistant, who copies the agreement onto the medical chart, and then the patient signs it

Correct Answer: C — The patient is told by the physician about any risks, hazards, or possible complications associated with the treatment in terms that the patient fully understands before submitting to treatment

32. Which of the following is/are recommended as a means for a patient to prepare for possible injury or illness resulting in the inability to make health care decisions?
A. Health care proxy
B. Living will
C. Medical durable power of attorney
D. All of these

Correct Answer: D — All of these

33. What is malpractice insurance also called?
A. Litigation insurance
B. Professional negligence insurance
C. Professional liability insurance
D. Arbitration insurance

Correct Answer: C — Professional liability insurance

34. What does the doctrine of respondeat superior mean?
A. The provider is liable for the negligent actions of their employees
B. “The thing speaks for itself” and negligence must have occurred
C. If a patient is injured during surgery, it will be assumed that the provider is negligent
D. The patient can only sue the health professional who is negligent, not the medical office

Correct Answer: A — The provider is liable for the negligent actions of their employees

35. What type of laws protects health professionals who provide emergency care at the scene of an accident?
A. Nondiscrimination laws
B. Good Samaritan laws
C. Genetic information laws
D. Confidentiality laws

Correct Answer: B — Good Samaritan laws

36. If both sides are willing, some disagreements can be settled out of court with the help of a facilitator. What is this process called?
A. Facilitation
B. Mediation
C. Arbitration
D. Out-of-court settlement

Correct Answer: B — Mediation

37. A 30-year-old patient felt discomfort in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen for 6 months after having surgery. On a subsequent x-ray examination, it was discovered that the surgeon had left a sponge in the patient during a previous surgery. When does the statute of limitations begin?
A. On the day of the surgery
B. On the day the patient first felt discomfort
C. On the day that the patient was given the x-ray results
D. On the day the patient became 18 years old

Correct Answer: C — On the day that the patient was given the x-ray results

38. A 16-year-old patient has large visible scars on her neck from an ear operation performed when she was 12 years old. The patient’s parents did nothing to recover damages for the child. What can be done to compensate this child for the unusual scars?
A. The parents must have begun a lawsuit within 3 years of the surgery
B. It is too late to do anything for compensation
C. The parents must sue before the child is 18 years old
D. The patient can institute a lawsuit when she has reached the age of majority

Correct Answer: D — The patient can institute a lawsuit when she has reached the age of majority

39. A drug that has a potential for addiction and/or abuse is called
A. A Schedule V drug
B. A prescription
C. A controlled substance
D. A medication

Correct Answer: C — A controlled substance

40. How many employees must a business have for them to be protected by Equal Opportunity Employment laws?
A. 5 people
B. 10 people
C. 15 people
D. 25 people

Correct Answer: C — 15 people

41. To what agency should employees complain if they feel that they have been discriminated against in their hiring, firing, or employment?
A. Equal Opportunity Employment Opportunity Commission
B. Civil Rights Act of 1964
C. Federal Discrimination Act
D. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Correct Answer: D — Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

42. What is a court summons ordering documents (such as a paper medical record or a certified copy of an electronic health record to be brought to court)?
A. Locum tenens
B. Res ipsa loquitur
C. Incident report
D. Subpoena duces tecum

Correct Answer: D — Subpoena duces tecum

43. What is the name for a minor who is allowed to choose or reject health care treatment without parental consent?
A. Mature minor
B. Consenting minor
C. Unregulated minor
D. Minor with early majority

Correct Answer: A — Mature minor

44. Which federal law regulates minimum wages?
A. Department of Labor
B. Fair Labor Standards Act
C. Minimum Wage Law
D. There is no federal law for this because states regulate minimum wage

Correct Answer: B — Fair Labor Standards Act

45. Who is not allowed to sign a consent form?
A. An unemployed individual
B. An individual who has been declared incompetent by a physician or court
C. An individual between 18 and 20 years old
D. An individual who cannot write

Correct Answer: B — An individual who has been declared incompetent by a physician or court

46. Which of the following federal acts includes incentives to encourage adoption of electronic health records by physicians and health care facilities?
A. HIPAA
B. HITECH
C. EHR
D. OSHA

Correct Answer: B — HITECH

47. What are reasons to revoke or suspend a physician’s license?
A. Conviction of a crime
B. Unprofessional activity
C. Physical or mental incapacitation
D. Senility
E. All of these

Correct Answer: E — All of these

48. To whom would physicians report cases of specific infectious diseases?
A. Local police department
B. Local board of health
C. The hospital where they have privileges
D. The state medical examiner or coroner

Correct Answer: B — Local board of health

49. Which of the following is NOT regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)?
A. Rules for reporting suspicious deaths or injuries
B. Disclosure of health information
C. Electronic transmission of health information
D. Creation of National Provider Identification (NPI) number for health care providers

Correct Answer: A — Rules for reporting suspicious deaths or injuries

50. The document that provides authorization that allows someone to act on behalf of someone else in making health care decisions when that person is incapacitated is a/an
A. Arbitration
B. Expressed consent
C. Medical durable power of attorney
D. Res ipsa loquitur

Correct Answer: C — Medical durable power of attorney

51. The concept that involves the process of investigating conditions that may cause issues for patients is
A. Locum tenens
B. Medical durable power of attorney
C. Reciprocity
D. Risk management

Correct Answer: D — Risk management

52. The definitions for the terms defendant and plaintiff are as follows:
A. The defendant is the person or entity that makes the complaint. The plaintiff is the person or entity against whom a lawsuit is brought
B. The defendant is the person or entity against whom the lawsuit is brought. The plaintiff is the person or entity who decides the case
C. The defendant is the person or entity against whom the lawsuit is brought. The plaintiff is the person or entity that makes the complaint
D. None of these

Correct Answer: C — The defendant is the person or entity against whom the lawsuit is brought. The plaintiff is the person or entity that makes the complaint

53. The definitions for the terms defendant and plaintiff are the following:
A. The defendant is the person or entity that makes the complaint. The plaintiff is the person or entity against whom a lawsuit is brought
B. The defendant is the person or entity against whom the lawsuit is brought. The plaintiff is the person or entity who decides the case
C. The defendant is the person or entity against whom the lawsuit is brought. The plaintiff is the person or entity that makes the complaint
D. None of these

Correct Answer: C — The defendant is the person or entity against whom the lawsuit is brought. The plaintiff is the person or entity that makes the complaint