Ethics Final

• Abuse – any action or failure to act which causes unreasonable suffering, misery, or harm to an individual

• Addiction – a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences

• Advanced Directives – a person of choice who can make health care choices for you when you cannot

• American Hospital Association (AHA) – national organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities

• Assault – Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person i.e., verbally threatening to harm someone

• Autonomy – self-governing

• Battery – Any unlawful touching of another person i.e., physically harming someone

• Beneficence – doing of good; active promotion of goodness, kindness, & charity

• Birth certificate – an official record of a person’s date and place of birth

• Certificate of live birth – an official record for hospital data-keeping

• Code of ethics – document establishing the ethical rules by the members of the profession

• Communicable disease – a disease that is spread from one person to another through a variety of ways (blood or bodily fluids, breathing in airborne virus, being bitten by an insect)

• Consequentialism – theory that states whether something is good or bad depends on its outcomes

• Contract – an agreement between two or more persons or parties which creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing

• Controlled Substances Act – 1970 government established regulations with substances or drugs that may be abused or cause addiction.  Substances are broken down into 5 categories or “schedules” with Schedule I being having highest abuse potential

• Coroner – individual that investigate all deaths where the cause is unknown or where there is reason to believe to think the death may not be to due to natural causes

• Current Procedural Terminology, 4th edition (CPT-4) - uniform coding system consisting of descriptive terms and 5 digit codes that are used primarily to identify medical services and procedures

• Defamation – false statements presented as fact that harm someone’s reputation or character

• Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG) – systematic system that categories treated patients based on diagnoses, surgical procedures, age, sex, & discharge status

• Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) – doctors written order that no CPR is to be performed if a patient stops breathing or their heart stops

• Duties – obligations placed on individuals, groups, and institutions

• Electronic Health Record (EHR) – an electronic version of a patient’s medical history that is maintained by the provider.  Include key administrative clinical data, demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, & more

• Electronic Medical Record (EMR) – digital versions of the paper patient chart

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – how employers can be of help to employees with a variety of issues that contribute to stress which in turn may be adversely affecting work performance or morale

• Ethics – study of rightness & wrongness of human conduct

• Ethical outrage – gross violation to the standards of decency or human rights

• Ethics of care – ethical reflections that emphasize an intimate personal relationship value system that includes such virtues as sympathy. compassion, fidelity, discernment and love

• Ethical theories – systematically related moral principles used to solve ethical dilemma

• Ethical Dilemmas – situational challenge as to what to do about two or more equally difficult problems

• False imprisonment – healthcare professional intentionally restricts a patient’s movement without a written physical order

• Fidelity - strict observance of duties, loyalty, & faithfulness to others

• Fraud – healthcare worker or individual deceives an insurer in order to receive greater reimbursement

• Healthcare Proxy – attorney or health care surrogate that will help ensure you get the health care you prefer in the event you cannot communicate your wishes

• Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) – Formal authority and nationally recognized accreditation organization for hospitals and other healthcare settings.

• Health Information Management Practitioners (HIM) – practice of acquiring, analyzing, and protecting digital & traditional medical information vital to providing quality patient care.  A combination of business, science, & information technology.

• Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) – Federal law developed in 1996. Required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patients consent.

• Implied consent – act of granting permission to perform a medical treatment/procedure without explicitly asking for permission

• Informed consent - patients are given important information about medical treatment/procedure, genetic testing, or a clinical trial, including the possible risks and benefits to help them decide if they want to be treated, tested, or take part in the trial.

• Inquest – formal inquiry into the causes of and circumstances surrounding the death of a person and is conducted by the coroner before a coroner’s jury

• International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10) – an international system used by physicians to classify and code all diagnoses, symptoms, and procedures for claims processing

• Intimate partner violence (IPV) – pattern of assaultive behavior and coercive behavior that may include physical injury, psychologic abuse, sexual assault, progressive isolation, stalking, deprivation, intimidation, and reproductive coercion.  This is aimed at establishing control of one partner over another

• Justice – equitable conduct when dealing with others

• Laws – regulations established by the government

• Living Will – specific types of medical care that a person wishes to receive if that person is no longer able to make medical decisions because of a terminal illness or being permanently unconscious

• Mandated reporter – person that has a duty to report known or suspected abuse or neglect relating to children, elders, or dependent adults.

• Medical examiner – physician acting in an official capacity investigates and examines persons dying of a sudden, unexpected, or violent death & with determining the cause and manner of death

• Moral principles - universal guides that come from basic moral truths

• Morals – generally accepted customs & conduct in society

• Negligence – deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use in a particular set of circumstances

• Nonconsequentialism – the theory that denies that the rightness or wrongness of our conduct is determined solely by the goodness or badness of the consequences

• Nonmaleficence – high value of avoiding harm to others

• Norms – patterns of performance and standards set by individuals or groups of individuals

• Older Americans Act of 1987 (OAA) – law aimed at promoting the well-being of adults 60 years older and by helping them live healthy, independent lives. Range of services include caregiving, ensuring good nutrition, helping find employment, and preventing the abuse of older persons

• Oral consent – a patient states their consent to a procedure verbally but does not sign any written form

• Patient Bill of Rights – a document that provides patients with information on how they can reasonably expect to be treated during the course of their hospital stay.  Most often not legally-binding.

• Postmortem – occurring, collected, or performed after death

• Principle-based ethics – using moral principles for resolving an ethical dilemma

• Principlism – approach used in biomedical ethics that uses the structure of ethical principles

• Professional ethics – internal controls of a profession based on human values/ moral principles

• Profession etiquette – attitude and manners accepted by members of a profession

• Res ipsa loquitur – “the thing speaks for itself”, a negligent act that cannot be proved but it is clear that the injury was caused by negligence

• Respondeat superior – general rule that an employer is responsible for the negligent acts or omissions of its employees

• Rights - justified claims that an individual can make on individuals, groups, or society; divided into legal and moral.

• Rights-based ethics – ethical behavior must uphold the rights of people

• Rules of ethics – mandatory standards of minimally acceptable professional conduct

• Social contract – people that live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior

• Standard of care – treatment that is accepted by medical experts as a proper treatment for a certain type of disease and is widely used by healthcare professionals

• Standards of professional conduct – practiced behaviors of a profession

• Statutory reporting – legal requirement to report particular matters in healthcare

• The Joint Commission (TJC) – organization that accredits and certifies healthcare organizations for the purpose of seeking to continuously improve health care for the public

• Tort – private or civil wrong or injury for which the court provides a remedy in the form of an action for damages, when a medical professional acts in a negligent manner and injures someone in their care

• Values – an individual’s judgement of what is important in life

• Value system – hierarchy of values that individuals reflect in the choices they make

• Veracity – telling the truth

• Virtues – traits of character that are socially valued

• Virtue-based ethics - a trait-like strength that leads to morally & socially valued actions

• Vital statistics – statistics relating to births, deaths, marriages, health, and disease

• Written consent – a legally signed document that ensures patients are given important healthcare information about medical treatment/procedure, genetic testing, or a clinical trial, including the possible risks and benefits

The Code of Ethics forms the first part of the Standards of Ethics.The Code of Ethics shall serve as a guide by which Registered Technologists and Candidates may evaluate their professional conduct as it relates to patients, healthcare consumers, employers, colleagues, and other members of the healthcare team. The Code of Ethics is intended to assist Registered Technologists and Candidates in maintaining a high level of ethical conduct and in providing for the protection, safety, and comfort of patients. The Code of Ethics is aspirational.

1. The Registered Technologist acts in a professional manner, responds to patient needs, and supports colleagues and associates in providing quality patient care.

2. The Registered Technologist acts to advance the principal objective of the profession to provide services to humanity with full respect for the dignity of mankind.

3. The Registered Technologist delivers patient care and service unrestricted by the concerns of personal attributes or the nature of the disease or illness, and without discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age, or any other legally protected basis.

4. The Registered Technologist practices technology founded upon theoretical knowledge and concepts, uses equipment and accessories consistent with the purposes for which they were designed, and employs procedures and techniques appropriately.

5. The Registered Technologist assesses situations; exercises care, discretion, and judgment; assumes responsibility for professional decisions; and acts in the best interest of the patient.

6. The Registered Technologist acts as an agent through observation and communication to obtain pertinent information for the physician to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of the patient and recognizes that interpretation and diagnosis are outside the scope of practice for the profession.

7. The Registered Technologist uses equipment and accessories, employs techniques and procedures, performs services in accordance with an accepted standard of practice, and demonstrates expertise in minimizing radiation exposure to the patient, self, and other members of the healthcare team.

8. The Registered Technologist practices ethical conduct appropriate to the profession and protects the patient’s right to quality radiologic technology care.

9. The Registered Technologist respects confidences entrusted in the course of professional practice, respects the patient’s right to privacy, and reveals confidential information only as required by law or to protect the welfare of the individual or the community.

10. The Registered Technologist continually strives to improve knowledge and skills by participating in continuing education and professional activities, sharing knowledge with colleagues, and investigating new aspects of professional practice.

11. The Registered Technologist refrains from the use of illegal drugs and/or any legally controlled substances which result in impairment of professional judgment and/or ability to practice radiologic technology with reasonable skill and safety to patients.

• Fraud of Deceptive Practices

• Subversion: the undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution

  • Unprofessional Conduct

  • Technical incompetence, improper supervision, improper delegatation or acceptance of a function (scope of practice)

  • Actual or Inability to Practice (fitness to practice)

  • Improper Management of Patient Records

  • Violation of State or Federal Law or Regulatory Rule

  • Failure to report violation or error (duty to report)