Ch. 3 Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues Vocabulary

Question 1

Abandonment

Answer 1

Unilateral termination fo care by the EMT without the 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.

Question 2

Advance directive

Answer 2

Written documentation that specifies medical treatment for a competent patient should the patient become unable to make decisions; also called a living will or health care directive.

Question 3

Algor mortis

Answer 3

Cooling of the body after death until it matches the ambient temperature of the environment.

Question 4

Applied ethics

Answer 4

The manner in which principles of ethics are incorporated into professional conduct.

Question 5

Assault

Answer 5

Unlawfully placing a patient in fear of bodily harm.

Question 6

Battery

Answer 6

Unlawfully touching a patient or providing emergency care without consent.

Question 7

Bioethics

Answer 7

The study of ethics related to issues that arise in healthcare.

Question 8

Breach of confidentiality

Answer 8

Disclosure of information without proper authorization.

Question 9

Compensatory damages

Answer 9

Damages awarded in a civil lawsuit that are intended to restore the plaintiff to the same condition that he or she was in prior to the incident.

Question 10

Competent

Answer 10

Able to make rational decisions about personal well-being.

Question 11

Consent

Answer 11

Permission to render care.

Question 12

Contributory negligence

Answer 12

A legal defense that may be raised whein the defendant thinks that the conduct of the paintiff somehow contributed to any injuries or damages that were sustained by the plaintiff.

Question 13

Decision-making capacity

Answer 13

Ability to understand and process information and make a choice regarding appropriate medical care.

Question 14

Defamation

Answer 14

The communication of false information about a person that is damaging to that person’s reputationor standing in the community.

Question 15

Dependent lividity

Answer 15

Blood settling to the lowest point of the body, causing discoloration of the skin; a definitive sign of death.

Question 16

Depositions

Answer 16

Oral questions asked of parties and witnesses under oath.

Question 17

Discovery

Answer 17

The phase of a civil lawsuit wher the plaintiff and defense obtain information from each other that will enable the attorneys to have a better understanding of the case and wich will assist in negotiating a possible settlement or in preparing for trial. Discovery includes depositions, interrogatories, and demands for production of records.

Question 18

Do not resuscutate (DNR) order

Answer 18

Written documentation by a physician giving permission to medical personnel to not attempt rescuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest.

Question 19

Durable power of attorney for health care

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Duty to act

Answer 20

A medicolegal term relating to certain personnel who wither by stature or by function have a responsibility to provide care.

Question 21

Emancipated minor

Answer 21

A person who is under the legal age in a given state but, because of other circumstances, is legally concidered an adult.

Question 22

Emergency

Answer 22

A serious situation, such as injury or illness that threatens the life or welfare of a person or group of peopleand requires immediate intervention.

Question 23

Emergency doctrine

Answer 23

The principle of law that permits a health care provider to treat a patient in an emergency situation when the pt is incapable of granting concent becuase of an altered level of consciousness, disability, the effects of drugs or alcohol, or the patient’s age.

Question 24

Emergency medical care

Answer 24

Immediate care or treatment.

Question 25

Ethics

Answer 25

The philosophy of right or wrong, of moral duties, and of ideal professional behavior.

Question 26

Expressed consent

Answer 26

A type of consent in which a patient gives verbal or nonverbal authorization for provision of care or transport.

Question 27

False imprisonment

Answer 27

The confinement of a person without legal authority or the person’s consent.

Question 28

Forcible restraint

Answer 28

The act of physically preventing an individual from initiating any physical action.

Question 29

Good Samaritan laws

Answer 29

Statutory provisions enacted by many states to protect citizens from liability for errors and omissions in giving good fainth emergency medical care, unless there is wanton, gross, or willful negligence.

Question 30

Governmental immunity

Answer 30

Legal doctrine that can protect an EMS provider from being sued or that may limit the amount of the monetary judgement that the plaintiff may recover; generally applies only to EMs systems that are operated by municipalities or other governmental entities.

Question 31

Gross negligence

Answer 31

Conduct that constitutes a willful or reckless disregard for a duty or standard of care.

Question 32

Health care directive

Answer 32

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 living will.

Question 33

Health care proxy

Answer 33

A type of advance directive executed by a competent adult that appoints another indidvidual to make medical treatment decisions on his or her behalf in the event that the person making the appointment loses decision-making capacity. Also known as durable power of attorney for healthcare.

Question 34

Implied consent

Answer 34

A 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.

Question 35

Informed consent

Answer 35

Permission for treatment given gy a competent patient after the potential risks, benefits, and alternatives to treatment have been explained.

Question 36

In loco parentis

Answer 36

Refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent.

Question 37

Interrogotories

Answer 37

Written questions that the defense and plaintiff send to one another.

Question 38

Kidnapping

Answer 38

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.

Question 39

Libel

Answer 39

False and damaging information about a person that is communicated in writing.

Question 40

Medicolegal

Answer 40

A term relating to medical jurisprudence (law) or forensic medicine.

Question 41

Morality

Answer 41

A code of conduct that can be defined by society, religion, or a person, affecting character, concuct, and conscience.

Question 42

Negligence

Answer 42

Failure to provide the same care a person with similar training would provide.

Question 43

Negligence per se

Answer 43

A theory that may be used when the conduct of a person being sued is alleged to have occured in clear violation of a statute.

Question 44

Patient autonomy

Answer 44

The right of a patient to make informed choices regarding his or her own health.

Question 45

Protected health information (PHI)

Answer 45

Any information about the health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to an individual. This can be interpreted rather broadly and includes any part of a patinet’s medical record or payment history.

Question 46

Proximate causation

Answer 46

When a person who has a duty auses it, and causes harm to another individual, the EMT, the agency, and/or the medical director may be sued for negligence.

Question 47

Punitive damages

Answer 47

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.

Question 48

Putrefaction

Answer 48

Decomposition of body tissues; a definitive sign of death.

Question 49

Res ipsa loquitur

Answer 49

When the EMT or an EMS system is held liable even when the plaintiff is unable to clearly demonstrate how an injury occured.

Question 50

Rigor mortis

Answer 50

Stiffening of the body muscles; a definitive sign of death.

Question 51

Scope of practice

Answer 51

Most commonly devined by state law; outlines the care that the EMT is able to provide for the patient.

Question 52

Slander

Answer 52

False and damaging information about a person that is communicated by the spoken word.

Question 53

Standard of care

Answer 53

Written, accepted levels of emergency care expected by reason of training and profession; written by legal or professional organizations so that the patients are not exposed to unreasonable risk or harm.

Question 54

Statute of limitations

Answer 54

The time within which a case must be commenced.

Question 55

Torts

Answer 55

Wrongful acts that give rise to a civil lawsuit.