Chapter 9 Physician's Public Duties and Responsibilities Flashcards
Vital Statistics
Numbers collected for the population of live births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, divorces, induced terminations of pregnancy, and any changes in civil status that occurs during an individuals lifetime.
Guidelines for completing birth and death certificates
- type or legibly print all entries
- leave no entries blank
- avoid corrections and erasures
- provide signatures. Do not use rubber stamps or initials in place of signatures
- file only originals wit state registrars
- verify the spelling of names
- avoid abbreviations, except those recommended
Vital statistics gathered by government officials
- live births
- deaths
- fetal deaths/induced abortions
Information a physician must put on a birth certificate
- disease or injury that caused the death
- date and time of death
- if decedent was female, presence or absence of pregnancy
- whether or not an autopsy was performed
Autopsy
a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death or to obtain physiological evidence, as in the case o a suspicious death.
Reasons why its against the law for an attending physician to sign a death certificate
- possible due to criminal cause
- not attended by a physician within a specified length of time before death
- duo to causes undetermined by the physician
- violent or otherwise suspicious
coroner
a public official who investigates and hold inquests over those who die from unknown or violent causes; he or she may or may not be a physician depending on state law.
medical examiner
a physician who investigates suspicious or unexplained deaths
forensics
a division of medicine that incorporates law and medicine and involves medical issues or medical proof at trails having to do with malpractice, crimes, and accidents.
Public Health Statues
Inferred from the 10th amendment of the US constitution
federalism
the sharing of power among national, state and local governments.
State enforcement of public health law
- require investigation be conducted in infectious disease outbreak
- make childhood vaccinations a condition for school entry
- ban the distribution of free cigarettes
- institute smoking bans
- Involuntarily detain individuals who have certain infectious diseases
Communicable disease reported
- diphtheria
- cholera
- meningococcal
- meningitis
- plague
- smallpox
- tb
- anthrax
- HIV and AIDS
Reported if higher than normal incidence
- influenza
- streptococcal
- staphylococcal
- STI
administer
to instill a drug into the body of a patient
National Vaccine injury compensation Program (VICP)
a no-fault system designed to compensate those individuals, or families of individuals who have been injured by childhood vaccines.
National childhood vaccine injury act
a federal law passed in 1986 that created a no-fault compensation program for citizens injured or killed by vaccines, as an alternative to suing vaccine manufactures and providers
smallpox emergency personnel protection act (SEPPA)
a no-fault program to provide benefits and or compensation to certain individuals, including health care workers and emergency responders, who are injured as the result of the administration of smallpox countermeasures, including the smallpox vaccine.
Requirements for documentation of vaccines
- the date the vaccine was administered
- the vaccine manufacturer
- the lot number
- the name, address, and title of the health care provider who administered the vaccine.
Child abuse prevention and treatment act
a federal law passed in 1974 requiring physicians to reports cases of child abuse
amendments to the older american act
a 1987 federal act that defines elder abuse, neglect and exploitation but does not deal with enforcement.
Unborn Victims of Violence act
aka Laci and Conner’s act a 2004 federal law that provides for the prosecution of anyone who causes injury to or death of a fetus in utero
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
a federal agency within the department of health and human services that oversees drug quality and standardization and must approve drugs before they are released for public use.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
A branch of the US department of Justice that regulates the sale and use of drugs
Controlled Substances Act
The federal law giving authority to the Drug Enforcement Administration to regulate the sale and use of drugs
prescribe
to issue a medical prescription for a patient
dispense
to deliver controlled substances in some type of bottle, box, or other container to a patient
Amount of time records are kept on controlled substances
2 years
The role of a MA with compliance with DEA regulations
- check that all controlled substances are locked
- Remind physicians to keep thier black bag in a safe place
- keep all prescription blanks locked
- order prescription blanks
- report any behavior by patients that might show addiction
- verify all prescription
