Chapter 4 - Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues

Question 1

abandonment

Answer 1

leaving a patient after care has been initiated and before the patient has been transferred to someone with equal or greater medical training

Question 2

advance directive

Answer 2

a DNR order; instructions written in advance of an event

Question 3

assault

Answer 3

placing a person in fear of bodily harm

Question 4

battery

Answer 4

causing bodily harm to or restraining a person

Question 5

confidentiality

Answer 5

the obligation not to reveal information obtained about a patient except to other health care professionals involved in the patient’s care or under subpoena or in a court of law or when the patient has signed a release of confidentiality

Question 6

duty to act

Answer 6

an obligation to provide care to a patient

Question 7

ethical

Answer 7

regarding a social system or social or professional expectations for applying principles of right and wrong

Question 8

expressed consent

Answer 8

consent given by adults who are of legal age and mentally competent to make a rational decision with regard to their medical well-being

Question 9

Good Samaritan laws

Answer 9

a series of laws, varying by state, designed to provide limited legal protection for citizens and some health care personnel when they are administering emergency care

Question 10

HIPAA

Answer 10

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law protecting the privacy of patient-specific health care information and providing the patient with control over how this information is used and distributed

Question 11

implied consent

Answer 11

the consent it is presumed a patient or patient’s parent or guardian would give if they could, such as for an unconscious patient or a child whose parents cannot be contacted when care is needed

Question 12

in loco parentis

Answer 12

literally ‘in place of a parent,’ indicating a person who may give consent for care of a child when the parents are not present or able to give consent

Question 13

liability

Answer 13

being held legally responsible

Question 14

libel

Answer 14

false, injurious information in written form

Question 15

moral

Answer 15

regarding personal standards or principles of right and wrong

Question 16

consent

Answer 16

permission from the patient for care or other action by the EMT

Question 17

crime scene

Answer 17

the location where a crime has been committed or any place that evidence relating to a crime may be found

Question 18

do not resuscitate (DNR) order

Answer 18

a legal document, usually signed by both patient and physician, which states that the patient has a terminal illness and does not wish to prolong life through resuscitative efforts

Question 19

negligence

Answer 19

a finding that there was failure to act properly in a situation in which there was a duty to act, that needed care as would reasonably be expected of the EMT was not provided, and that harm was caused to the patient as a result

Question 20

organ donor

Answer 20

a person who has completed a legal document that allows for donation of organs and tissues in the event of death

Question 21

Physician’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

Answer 21

physician orders that state not only the patient’s wishes regarding resuscitation attempts but also the patient’s wishes regarding artificial feeding, antibiotics, and other life-sustaining care if the person is unable to state the person’s desires later

Question 22

res ipsa loquitur

Answer 22

a Latin term meaning ‘the thing speaks for itself’

Question 23

safe haven law

Answer 23

a law that permits a person to drop off an infant or child at a police, fire, or EMS station or to deliver the infant or child to any available public safety personnel. The intent of the law is to protect children who may otherwise be abandoned or harmed

Question 24

scope of practice

Answer 24

a set of regulations and ethical considerations that define the scope, or extent and limits, of the EMT’s job

Question 25

slander

Answer 25

false, injurious information stated verbally

Question 26

standard of care

Answer 26

for an EMT providing care for a specific patient in a specific situation, the care that would be expected to be provided by an EMT with similar training when caring for a patient in a similar situation

Question 27

tort

Answer 27

a civil, not a criminal, offense; an action or injury caused by negligence from which a lawsuit may arise