Chapter 8 Definitions Flashcards
malpractice
liabiltiy-generating conduct associated with the adverse outcome of patient treatment
breach of contract
an unexcused failure to perform the services specified i a contract, either formal or informal
tort
a legal wrong, other than breach of contract, for which a remedy will be provided, usually in the form of monetary damages
negligence
a type of tort in which an athletic trainer fails to act as a reasonably prudent athletic trainer would act under the circumstances
omission
a failure to act when there was a legal duty to do so
commission
an action that violates a legal duty
abandonment
the desertion of a patient-practitioner relationship by the health care proveder without the consent fo the patient
standard of care
the legal duty to provide health care services consistent with what other health care practitioners of the same training, education, and credentialing would provide under the circumstances
actual cause
the degreee to which a health care practitioner’s actiosn are associated with the adverse outcomes of a patient’s care
proximate (legal) cause
the degree to which the harm caused by a health care practitioner was foreseeable
foreseeability
the abiltiy to project the likely outcome of an act
medical practice act
a state law regulating the practice of medicine, usually by specifying who may preactice and under what circumstances
licensure
a form of state credentialing, established by statute and intended to protect the public, that regulates the practice of a trade or profession by specifying who may practice and what duties they may perform
certification
a form of title protection, established by state law or sponsored by professional associations, designed to ensure that practitioners have essential knowledge and skills usfficient to protect the public
registration
a type of state credentialign that requires qualified members of a progession to register with the state in order to practice
exemption
a legislative mechanism used to release members of one profession from the libabilty of violating another profession’s practice act
risk management
a process designed to prevent losses of all kinds for everyone associated with an organization, including its directors, administrators, employees, and clients
emergency action plan
a blueprint for handling emergencies that helps establish accountability for their managment
drug administration
provision of a single dose of medication to a patient by order of a physician
drug dispensing
preparing and packaging medication for subsequent use by a patient
over-the-counter medication (OTC)
a medication that can be purchased without a physician’s prescription
statutes of limitations
laws that fix a certain length of time beyond which legal actions cannot be initiated
sovereign (governmental) immunity
a legal doctrine that holds that neither governments nor their agents can be held liable for negligent actions
assumption of risk
a legal defense that attempts to claim that an injured plaintiff understood the risk on an activity and freely chose to undertake the activity regardless of the haxards associated with it
good samaritan laws
statutes intended to shield certain health care practitioners from certain types of legal liability when they voluntarily come to the aid of injured or ill persons under specific circumstances
comparative negligence
a legal doctrine intended to determine the degree to which a plaintiff contributed to the harm caused by a defendant
testimony
legally binding statements offered as evidence to the facts in a legal proceeding
subpoena
the legal authority used to compel a person to provide testimony
