3. Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues Flashcards
Unilateral termination of care by the EMT without patient’s consent and without making provisions for transferring care to another medical professional with the skills and training necessary to meet the needs of the patient.
abandonment
Written documentation that specifies medical treatment for a competent patient should the patient become unable to make decisions; also a living will or health care directive
advance directive
The manner in which principles of ethics are incorporated into professional conduct.
applied ethics
Unlawfully placing a patient in fear of bodily harm.
assault
Unlawfully touching a patient or providing emergency care without consent.
battery
The study of ethics related to issues that arise in health care.
bioethics
Disclosure of information without proper authorization.
breach of confidentiality
A process in which a person, an institution, or a program is evaluated and recognized as meeting certain predetermined standards to provide safe and ethical patient care.
certification
Damages awarded in a civil
compensatory damages
Able to make rational decisions about personal well-being.
competent
Permission to render care.
consent
A legal defense
contributory negligence
An established process to determine the qualifications necessary to be allowed to practice a particular profession, or to function as an organization.
credentialing
Ability to understand and process information and make a choice regarding appropriate medical care.
decision-making capacity
The communication of false information about a person that is damaging to that person’s reputation or standing in the community.
defamation
Blood settling to the lowest point of the body, causing discoloration of the skin; a definitive sign of death.
dependent lividity
Oral questions asked of parties and witnesses under oath.
depositions
The phase of a civil lawsuit where the plaintiff and defense obtain information from each other that will enable the attorneys to have a better understanding of the case and which will assist in negotiating a possible settlement or in preparing for trial. Includes depositions, interrogatories, and demands for production of records.
discovery
Written documentation by a physician giving permission to medical personnel not to attempt resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest.
do not resuscitate (DNR) orders
A type of advance directive executed by a competent adult that appoints another individual to make a decision on his/her behalf, in the event that the person making the appointment loses decision-making capacity.
durable power of attorney for health care
A medicolegal term relating to certain personnel who either by statue or by function have a responsibility to provide care.
duty to act
A person who is under the legal age in a given state but, because of other circumstances, is legally considered an adult.
emancipated minors
A serious situation, such as injury or illness that threatens the life or welfare of a person or group of people and requires immediate intervention.
emergency
The principle of law
emergency doctrine
Immediate care of treatment
emergency medical care
The philosophy of right and wrong, of moral duties, and of ideal professional behavior.
ethics
A type of consent in which a patient gives verbal or nonverbal authorization for provision of care or transport.
expressed consent
The confinement of a person without legal authority or the person’s consent.
false imprisonment
The act of physically preventing an individual from initiating any physical action.
forcible restraint
Statutory provisions enacted by many states to protect citizens from liability for errors and omissions in giving good faith emergency medical care, unless there is wanton, gross, or willful negligence.
Good Samaritan laws
Legal doctrine that can protect an EMS provider from being sued or which may limit the amount of the monetary judgment that the plaintiff may recover; generally applies only to EMS systems that are operated by municipalities or other governmental entities.
governmental immunity
Conduct that constitutes a willful or reckless disregard for a duty or standard of care.
gross negligence
A written document that specifies medical treatment for a competent patient, should he or she become unable to make decisions. Also known as an advance directive or a living will.
health care directive
A type of advance directive executed by a competent adult that appoints another individual to make medical treatment decisions on his or her behalf in the event that the person making the appointment loses decision making capacity. A durable power of attorney
health care proxies
Type of consent in which a patient who is unable to give consent is given treatment under the legal assumption that he or she would want treatment.
implied consent
Permission for treatment given by a competent patient after the potential risks, benefits, and alternatives have been explained.
informed consent
Refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent.
in loco parentis
Written questions that the defense and plaintiff send to one another.
interrogatories
The seizing, confining, abducting, or carrying away of a person by force, including transporting a competent adult for medical treatment without his or her consent.
kidnapping
False and damaging information about a person that is communicated in writing.
libel
The process whereby a competent authority, usually the state, allows people to perform a regulated act.
licensure
A term relating to medical jurisprudence (law) or forensic medicine.
medicolegal
A code of conduct
morality
Failure to provide the same care that a person with similar training would provide.
negligence
A theory that may be used when the conduct of the person being sued is alleged to have occurred in clear violation of a statute.
negligence per se
The right of a patient to make informed choices regarding his or her health.
patient autonomy
Any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to an individual.
protected health information (PHI)
When a person who has a duty abuses it, and causes harm to another individual, the EMT, the agency, and/or the medical director may be sued for negligence.
proximate causation
Damages that are sometimes awarded in a civil lawsuit when the conduct of the defendant was intentional or constituted a reckless disregard for the safety of the public.
punitive damages
Decomposition of body tissues; a definitive sign of death.
putrefaction
When the EMT or an EMS system is held liable even when the plaintiff is unable to clearly demonstrate how an injury occurred.
res ipsa loquitor
Stiffening of the body muscles; a definitive sign of death.
rigor mortis
Most commonly defined by the state law; outlines the care that the EMT is able to provide for the patient.
scope of practice
False and damaging information about a person that is communicated by the spoken word.
slander
Written, accepted levels of emergency care expected by reason of training and profession; written by legal or professional organizations so that patients are not exposed to unreasonable risk or harm.
standard of care
The time within which a case must be connected
statue of limitations
A wrongful act that gives rise to a civil lawsuit.
tort
