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

Certification

Question 10

Compensatory damages

Answer 10

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 11

Competent

Answer 11

Able to make rational decisions about personal well-being.

Question 12

Consent

Answer 12

Permission to render care.

Question 13

Contributory negligence

Answer 13

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 14

Decision-making capacity

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Defamation

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Dependent lividity

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Depositions

Answer 17

Oral questions asked of parties and witnesses under oath.

Question 18

Discovery

Answer 18

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 19

Do not resuscutate (DNR) order

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Durable power of attorney for health care

Answer 20

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 21

Duty to act

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Emancipated minor

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Emergency

Answer 23

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 24

Emergency doctrine

Answer 24

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 25

Emergency medical care

Answer 25

Immediate care or treatment.

Question 26

Ethics

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Expressed consent

Answer 27

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

Question 28

False imprisonment

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Forcible restraint

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Good Samaritan laws

Answer 30

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 31

Governmental immunity

Answer 31

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 32

Gross negligence

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Health care directive

Answer 33

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 34

Health care proxy

Answer 34

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 35

Implied consent

Answer 35

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 36

Informed consent

Answer 36

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

Question 37

In loco parentis

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Interrogotories

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Kidnapping

Answer 39

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 40

Libel

Answer 40

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

Question 41

Medicolegal

Answer 41

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

Question 42

Morality

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Negligence

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Negligence per se

Answer 44

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 45

Patient autonomy

Answer 45

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

Question 46

Protected health information (PHI)

Answer 46

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 47

Proximate causation

Answer 47

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 48

Punitive damages

Answer 48

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 49

Putrefaction

Answer 49

Decomposition of body tissues; a definitive sign of death.

Question 50

Res ipsa loquitur

Answer 50

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

Question 51

Rigor mortis

Answer 51

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

Question 52

Scope of practice

Answer 52

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

Question 53

Slander

Answer 53

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

Question 54

Standard of care

Answer 54

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 55

Statute of limitations

Answer 55

The time within which a case must be commenced.

Question 56

Torts

Answer 56

Wrongful acts that give rise to a civil lawsuit.