Week 5 - Ethical and Legal Considerations

Learning Outcome

Ethico-legal Considerations
- Adheres to considerations for safe nursing care.
- Applies ethical reasoning to situations of distress and dilemmas.
- Follows norms based on Philippine Nursing Law and other relevant laws.
- Protects clients' rights through the Patient's Bill of Rights.
- Implements strategies for informed consent in multiple contexts.

Specifies ethico-legal bases for nursing care.
Makes professional decisions within ethical and legal parameters.
Utilizes resources to address legal and ethical concerns in nursing.
Advocates for human and societal well-being applying legal and ethical principles.
Clarifies unclear orders among inter-professional healthcare team members.
Executes a reasoning process to resolve ethical dilemmas.
Decides cases based on ethical reasoning.
Articulates nursing practice scope and standards.
Shows evidence of legal compliance (licensure).
Acts in accordance with employment contracts.
Advocates for client's rights and evaluates understanding of rights.
Implements interventions to protect rights as per the Patient's Bill of Rights.
Ensures client accountability for obligations.
Demonstrates informed consent understanding and validations.
Acts as a witness in the informed consent process.
Questions informed consent processes when requirements are unmet.

Ethics is based on standards of right and wrong dictating human actions concerning rights, obligations, societal benefits, fairness, or virtues.

Autonomy: Respect for individual decision-making in health.
- Desirable actions enhance autonomy; undesirable actions diminish it.
Beneficence: Actions intended to provide benefits to patients or others.
Non-maleficence: Actions aimed at not causing harm to patients or others.
Justice: Fairness concerning the consequences of actions to the community.

Linked to several bioethical principles.
It respects personal autonomy and control over health-related information.
Maintaining confidentiality is beneficent and non-maleficent.
Example: Disclosing privileged information can harm the patient (e.g., revealing a celebrity's private health information).

Intellectual Property (IP) defined by WIPO: "creations of the mind", including inventions, literary and artistic works, and commercial symbols.
Legal protection for inventors ensures financial benefits and fosters innovation through laws on patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

Republic Act No. 8293
- Establishes the Intellectual Property Code.
- Aims for effective IP systems vital for technology transfer and foreign investment.

Patents
- Exclusive rights for inventions providing new technical solutions. The term is 20 years, maintain annual payments from the 5th year.
- Applications must include: Request, Description, Drawings, Claims, Abstract.
Copyrights
- Author’s rights for original works in literary, scientific, and artistic domains.
- Protection from creation; term is the author’s life plus 50 years.
Trademarks
- Signs/signals distinguishing goods/services, examples include logos.
Infringement
- Defined under RA 8293; recognized as civil actions to recover damages. Compensation can be three times actual damages.

Private Domain: Information belonging to individuals or organizations, not shared without authorization.
Public Domain: Creative content not protected by IP rights, available to anyone.
Data Privacy: Ensures confidentiality and grants control over personal data usage.
Philippine Data Privacy Law:
- Data Privacy Act (Republic Act No. 10173): Protects personal information in private/government sectors while ensuring information flow.
Key Terms
- National Privacy Commission: Enforces RA No. 10173 and regulates data processing.
- Data Subject: Individual whose data is processed.
- Personal Information: Data that identifies an individual.
- Processing Operations: Include collection, storage, modification, and destruction of data.

Rights of Data Subjects: Right to access, correct, erase data; file complaints.
Data Life Cycle Includes creating, collecting, storing, reporting, and disposing data responsibly.
Penalties for breaches: 6 months to 7 years with fines from Php 100k to 5M.

Principle of patient autonomy: Requires voluntary, informed consent for treatment.
Must include capacity to decide, disclose of treatment risks, comprehension of information, and voluntary consent.
Considers exceptions, such as emergencies or patient incompetence.

Netiquette: Combines 'internet' and 'etiquette' to represent online communication standards.

Remember the human - treat electronic communication as you would face-to-face.
Uphold same behavioral standards online as in real life.
Contextual awareness - know the virtual setting and apply appropriate communication.
Respect others’ time and bandwidth - Keep communications concise.
Maintain professionalism in writing - Check spelling and grammar.
Share knowledge responsibly - help others and disseminate information.
Control flame wars - manage heated discussions productively.
Respect privacy - handle personal information carefully.
Do not abuse power - use expertise responsibly.
Forgive mistakes - extend understanding to others with less experience online.

Informed consent and ethical responsibilities are crucial in nursing practice, emphasizing autonomy, confidentiality, and professionalism in patient interactions.