Chapter 2

Question 1

Standard of Care

Answer 1

the care that should be provided for any level of training based on local laws, administrative orders, and guidelines and protocols established by the local EMS system

Question 2

Duty

Answer 2

the legal obligation to provide care

Question 3

Ethics

Answer 3

the study of the principles that define behavior as right, good, and proper

Question 4

Values

Answer 4

the personal beliefs that determine how a person actually behaves

Question 5

Consent

Answer 5

the legal term that means to give formal permission for something to happen

Question 6

Capacity

Answer 6

refers to a patient’s legal rights and ability to make decisions concerning his or her medical care

Question 7

Competence

Answer 7

refers to the patient’s mental ability to comprehend the situation and make rational decisions regarding his or her medical care

Question 8

Expressed consent

Answer 8

a competent adult’s decision to accept emergency care

Question 9

Informed consent

Answer 9

consent granted by a patient after he has been appropriately informed of the care being suggested and associated consequences

Question 10

Unresponsive

Answer 10

having no reaction to verbal or painful stimuli; also referred to as unconscious

Question 11

Implied consent

Answer 11

a legal form of consent that assumes that a patient who lacks the capacity or competency to provide his own consent would consent to receiving emergency care if he were able. This form of consent may apply in situations where the patient is a minor, unresponsive, or lacks capacity

Question 12

Emancipated minor

Answer 12

a minor whose parents have entirely surrendered the right to the care, custody, and earning and no longer are under any duty to support the minor

Question 13

Criminal law

Answer 13

the body of law dealing with crimes and punishment

Question 14

Battery

Answer 14

unlawful physical contact

Question 15

Advance directive

Answer 15

a document that allows a patient to define in advance what his wishes are should he become incapacitated due to a medical illness or severe injury

Question 16

Negligence

Answer 16

a failure to provide the expected standard of care

Question 17

Duty to Act

Answer 17

a requirement that Emergency Medical Responders, at least while on duty, must provide care according to a set standard

Question 18

Good Samaritan laws

Answer 18

state laws designed to protect certain care providers if they deliver the standard of care in good faith, to the level of their training, and to the best of their abilities

Question 19

Abandonment

Answer 19

to leave a sick or injured patient before equal or more highly trained personnel can assume responsibility for care

Question 20

Confidentiality

Answer 20

refers to the treatment of information that an individual has disclosed in a relationship of trust and with the expectation that it will not be divulged to others

Question 21

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)

Answer 21

a law that dictates the extent to which protected health information can be shared

Question 22

Mandated Reporter

Answer 22

any person required by law to report (or cause a report to be made) whenever financial, physical, sexual, or other types of abuse or neglect have been observed or are suspected