Chapter 4 Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues: Vital Vocabulary Flashcards
Termination of medical care for the patient without giving the patient sufficient opportunity to find another suitable health care professional to take over his or her medical treatment.
abandonment
A written document or oral statement that expresses the wants, needs, and desires of a patient in reference to future medical care; examples include living wills, do not resuscitate orders, and organ donation orders.
advance directive
To create in another person a fear of immediate bodily harm or invasion of bodily security (including loss or freedom).
assault
The unlawful physical acting upon a threat– the use of force against another, resulting in harmful, offensive, or sexual contact.
battery
A principle which absolves an institution of liability when one of its members acts beyond his or her scope of certification or training by following someone else’s orders.
borrowed servant doctrine
An action instituted by a person or entity against another person or entity.
civil lawsuit
A decision that has been made by a judge through a case based on his or her interpretation of the statutes and constitutions; can be overturned either by another court with a higher authority or the issuing court at a later time; also called case law.
common law
Agreement by the patient to accept a medical intervention.
consent
Act(s) committed by plaintiff that contributes to adverse outcomes.
contributory negligence
An action instituted by the government against a person for violation of criminal law.
criminal prosecution
Compensation for injury awarded by a court.
damages
The patient’s ability to understand and process the information given to him or her and the proposed treatment plan.
decision-making capacity
Intentionally making a false statement, through written or verbal communication, which injures a person’s good name or reputation.
defamation
In a civil lawsuit, the person against whom a legal action is brought.
defendant
A type of advance directive that describes which life-sustaining procedures should be performed in the event of a sudden deterioration in a patient’s medical condition.
do not resuscitate (DNR) order
A right to a fair procedure for a legal action against a person or agency; has two components: Notice and Opportunity to be Heard.
due process
Legal obligation of public and certain other ambulance services to respond to a call for help in their jurisdiction.
duty
A person who is under the legal age (generally 18 years) in a given state, but is legally considered an adult because of other circumstances.
emancipated minor
A federal law enacted in 1986 to combat the practice of patient dumping (hospitals refusing to admit seriously ill patients or women in labor who could not pay, forcing emergency medical services providers to dump patients at another hospital). Issues are regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the law carries severe monetary penalties– up to and including loss of Medicare funding– for hospitals and physicians that fail to comply.
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)
A set of values in society that differentiates right from wrong.
ethics
A type of informed consent that occurs when the patient does something, either through words (verbal or written) or by taking some sort of action, that demonstrates permission to provide emergency medical care.
expressed consent
Intentionally or unjustifiably detaining a person against his or her will. Some examples include transporting a patient without his or her consent, or using restraints in a wrongful manner.
false imprisonment
A statute providing limited immunity from liability to people responding voluntarily and in good faith to the aid of an injured person outside the hospital.
Good Samaritan Law
Negligence that is willful, wanton, intentional, or reckless; a serious departure from the accepted standards.
gross negligence
A legal document that allows another person to make health care decisions for the patient, including withdrawal or withholding of care, when the patient is incapacitated.
health care power of attorney
The law enacted in 1996 that provides for criminal sanctions as well as for civil penalties for releasing a patient’s protected health information in a way not authorized by the patient.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Situation in which an employer or an employer’s agent either creates or allows to continue an offensive practice related to sex that makes it uncomfortable or impossible for an employee to continue working.
hostile environment
Legal protection from penalties that could normally be incurred under the law.
immunity
Assumption on behalf of a person unable to give consent that he or she would have done sol
implied consent
Phrase meaning “in the place of the parent” that is used to describe situations in which a designated authority figure makes medical treatment and transport decisions for a minor child when a parent or guardian is unavailable.
in loco parentis
A patient’s voluntary agreement to be treated after being told about the nature of the disease, the risks and benefits of the proposed treatment, alternative treatments, or the choice of no treatment at all.
informed consent
An oxymoron, because consent is never involuntary; often used to describe a figure of authority dictating medical care be given to someone in custody, incapacitated, or a minor.
involuntary consent
A duty that is enforceable in a court of law.
legal obligation
A finding in civil cases that the majority of the evidence shows the defendant was responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries.
liability
Making a false statement in written form that injures a person’s good name
libel
A type of advance directive, generally requiring a precondition for withholding resuscitation when the patient is incapacitated.
living will
Unauthorized act committed outside the scope of medical practice defined by law.
malfeasance
An act that usually defines the minimum qualifications of those who may perform various health services, defines the skills that each type of practitioner is legally permitted to use, and establishes a means of licensure or certification for different categories of health care professionals.
Medical Practice Act
Appropriate act performed in an improper manner, such as medication administered at the wrong dose.
misfeasance
Pertaining to conscience, conduct, and character.
morality
Professional action or inaction on the part of the health care practitioner that does not meet the standard of ordinary care expected of similarly trained and prudent health care practitioners and that results in injury to the patient.
negligence
Inexcusable violation of a statute, such as practicing paramedicine without a valid license or certification.
negligence per se
Failing to perform a required or expected act.
nonfeasance
Negligence that is a failure to act, or a simple mistake that causes harm to a patient.
ordinary negligence
A type of medical care intended to provide comfort and relief from pain.
palliative care
The right to direct one’s own medical care, and to decide how end-of-life medical care should be provided.
patient autonomy
In a civil lawsuit, the person who brings a legal action against another person
plaintiff
The specific reason that an injury occurred; one of the items that must be proven in order for a paramedic to be held liable for negligence.
proximate cause
Compensation, usually monetary, awarded to a plaintiff for intentional or reckless acts committed by the defendant.
punitive damages
Protection in which the paramedic is only held liable when the plaintiff can show that the paramedic violated clearly established law of which he or she should have known.
qualified immunity
Circumstance in which a person in authority attempts to exchange some work-related benefit, such as a raise or promotion, for an inappropriate employee action (eg, sexual favors); literal translation from Latin is “this for that.”
quid pro quo
Theory of negligence that assumes an injury can only occur when a negligent act occurs.
res ipsa loquitur
Describes what a state permits a paramedic practicing under a license or certification to do.
scope of practice
Making a false oral statement that injures a person’s good name.
slander
Describes what a reasonable paramedic with training would do in the same or a similar situation.
standard of care
Laws that limit the time period within which a lawsuit may be filed.
statutes of limitations
A person designated by a patient to make health care decisions as the patient would want when the patient becomes incapable of making decisions.
surrogate decision maker
A wrongful act that gives rise to a civil lawsuit.
tort
