Chapter 1 - 5 terms Flashcards
Administrative law
Establishes laws between citizens and government agencies and provides certain power to the agencies to enforce these laws and regulations.
Common Law
AKA - “Judge made laws” Law of precedents built on a case by case basis and established by citing interpretation of existing laws by judges in previous suits.
Criminal Law
Sate or federal government law covering violations of a written criminal code or statute.
Defendant
Person or entity sued.
Executive branch
President of the United States or the governor of an individual state. Can propose laws, veto laws proposed by the legislature, enforce laws, and establish agencies.
Felony
Serious crime punishable by relatively large lines and/or imprisonment for more than 1 year and, in extreme cases, death.
Judicial Branch
Federal constitutional court system, one of the 3 parts of the US federal government, interprets legislation and determines its constitutionality and applies it to specific cases. May overrule cases presented on appeal from lower courts.
Legislative Branch
The US house of representatives and senate and any similar state legislature that develops statutory law.
Malpractice
The failure of a professional to meet the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent member of the profession would exercise in similar circumstances, it results in harm.
Medical Ethics
Principles based on the medical profession that determine moral behavior.
Medical Law
Laws that are prescribed to pertain specifically to the medical field.
Misdemeanor
Lesser crime punishable by usually modest fines or penalties established by the state or federal government and/or imprisonment of less than 1 year.
Negligence
The failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances. An act of omission or failure to do what a person of ordinary prudence would have done under similar circumstances.
Abuse
A misuse or a maltreatment. In relationships, it is the pattern of misuse or inappropriate treatment systematically to gain control and power over another individual.
Americans with disabilities act
Laws enacted in 1990 to protect citizens with disabilities from discrimination.
Applied ethics
Application of moral principles and standards to organizations of individuals.
Artificial insemination
Injection into the female vagina of seminal fluid, which contains male sperm from a husband, partner, or other donor, to aid in conception.
Code of ethics
Standards of behavior, initiated by an employer or organization, defining the acceptable conduct of its members/employees (also called code of conduct).
Conscience clause
Regulation or mandate that states that healthcare providers and/or facilities do not have to participate in procedures that are against their beliefs, such as abortions or sterilization procedures.
Consumer protection act
Laws and safeguards to protect consumers from fraudulent, unethical, or illegal practices.
Control group
Group of subjects in a research study who do not receive any treatment or, in some cases, are given a placebo. In testing, it is the principle of the constant that remains the same to evaluate the changes of a given experiment.
Due process
Procedures or actions followed to safeguard individual rights. In the workplace, the process to safeguard an employee if he or she feels his or her rights are in jeopardy.
Duty-based ethics
Philosophy of ethics that focuses on performing one’s duty to a group, individual, or organization.
Employment protection acts
Broad group of acts that govern handling of employees or potential employees. Generally cover the following areas: interviewing, debt collections, interest and charges, equal opportunity employment, disability act, compensation and benefit, antitrust, and anti-kickback.
Ethics
Branch of philosophy that relates to morals and moral principles.
Fertilization
Assistance in conception, most commonly performed either as artificial insemination or as in vitro fertilization to produce pregnancy.
Fraud
Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.
Gene therapy
Process of splicing or infusing genes to replace malfunctioning genes. Alteration of the DNA of body cells to control production of a particular substance.
In vitro fertilization
Process to assist in conception by harvesting an ovum from a woman and combining it with the male’s sperm outside of the uterus and then implanting the fertilized embryo back into the woman’s uterus.
Integrity
Unwavering adherence to an individual’s values and principles with dedication to high standards.
Jurisdiction
Authority given by law to a court to try cases and rule on legal matters within a particular geographical area and/or over certain types of legal cases.
Justice based ethics
Ethical philosophy based on all individuals having equal rights.
Medical practice acts
Laws defined by each of the states that regulate the licensing and medical laws for that state and define the scope of practice for licensed and unlicensed individuals in the healthcare field.
Morals
Standards of right and wrong. Moral values that govern behavior and thinking based on principles of what is right and wrong. The norms of measuring right from wrong.
Occupational safety and health administration
Federal agency within the Department of Labor that designs, regulates, and monitors standards for employee safety.
Placebo
Nontherapeutic drug or agent given to a control group. (Commonly referred to as a “sugar pill.”)
Plaintiff
The person or entity bringing a suit or claim.
Rights based ethics
Philosophy of ethics based on theory of the rights of each individual (autonomy).
Sanctions
Penalties that can be levied on an individual for violating a policy or rule. (Can also mean permission or agreement in other contexts.)
Scope of practice
Officially sanctioned description of the specific procedures, actions, and processes that are permitted for a licensed or nonlicensed professional; based on the specific state’s laws for education and experience requirements, plus demonstrated competency. Established by the state’s laws, licensing board, and/or agency regulations.
Standard of care
The degree of caution with which a similarly qualified healthcare professional would have managed the patient’s care under the same or similar circumstances.
Stark laws
Laws designed to maintain the integrity of the medical field; include antitrust and anti-kickback laws to prevent physicians from gaining financially from solicitation of services or monopolization of services.
Statute of limitations
A law that sets out the maximum time that parties must initiate legal proceedings from the date of an alleged offense.
Stem cells
Cells of the body that can control the production of specialized cells by becoming other types of cells as needed during growth or healing.
Sterilization
Any procedure performed to permanently prevent reproduction.
Subpoena
A court order for records or appearance in court for a trial case.
Utilitarianism
Ethical theory based on the greatest good for the greatest number (also known as cost/benefit analysis).
Values
Principles that individuals choose to follow in their lives.
Virtue based ethics
Ethical theory or philosophy that relies on the principle that individuals share and will hold as their governing principle values of moral behavior and character.
Whistleblower
a person who informs on a person or organization engaged in an illicit activity.
Verdict
a decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case or an inquest.
Testimony
a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.
Abortion
he deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.
Anti-kickback statute
The AKS is a criminal law that prohibits the knowing and willful payment of “remuneration” to induce or reward patient referrals or the generation of business involving any item or service payable by the Federal health care programs (e.g., drugs, supplies, or health care services for Medicare or Medicaid patients).
Autonomy
self-directing freedom and especially moral independence personal autonomy
Bench trial
A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a trial by jury.
Beneficence
Beneficence is a concept in research ethics which states that researchers should have the welfare of the research participant as a goal of any clinical trial or other research study.
Bill of rights
the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship.
Bioethics
the ethics of medical and biological research.
Civil law
Civil law is a legal system originating in Continental Europe and adopted in much of the world.
Civil rights act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and later sexual orientation and gender identity.
Clinical laboratory improvement act CLIA
The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 are United States federal regulatory standards that apply to all clinical laboratory testing performed on humans in the United States, except clinical trials and basic research.
Deposition
Involves the taking of sworn, out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that may be reduced to a written transcript for later use in court or for discovery purposes.
Double blind study
A type of clinical trial in which neither the participants nor the researcher knows which treatment or intervention participants are receiving until the clinical trial is over.
Emergency medical treatment and active labor act
federal law that requires anyone coming to an emergency department to be stabilized and treated, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay, but since its enactment in 1986 has remained an unfunded mandate.
Experimental group
, the experimental group (or experimental condition) refers to the group of participants who are exposed to the independent variable. These participants receive or are exposed to the treatment variable.
False claims act
The False Claims Act, also called the “Lincoln Law”, is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies who defraud governmental programs. It is the federal Government’s primary litigation tool in combating fraud against the Government.
