Final Exam

Question 1

A patient has a right to refuse to consent to medical treatment because

a. treatment without consent is battery
b. it is in the Constitution
c. otherwise the doctor cannot be paid
d. it is required by Medicare

Answer 1

treatment without consent is battery

Question 2

What type of consent is most commonly an issue in a medical malpractice case?

a. Deathbed consent
b. Express consent
c. Informed consent
d. Testamentary consent

Answer 2

Informed Consent

Question 3

Which of the following is not necessary for a valid informed consent?

a. Explanation of the nature of the treatment
b. Use of language the patient can understand
c. Quote for the approximate cost of the procedure
d. Discussion of possible alternative treatments

Answer 3

Quote for the approximate cost of the procedure

Question 4

The expression “implied consent” is most applicable in which of the following situations?

a. When the patient has been seeing the doctor for many years
b. When the treatment is part of a clinical research project
c. When the patient is dying
d. When there is an emergency and the patient is unconscious

Answer 4

When there is an emergency and the patient is unconscious

Question 5

What is a hospital’s responsibility to ensure that patients give valid consent to surgery when
the physician is an independent member of the medical staff (i.e., not a hospital employee)?
a. To require a nurse to witness the consent form
b. To have procedures that will ensure surgery does not begin unless consent is documented in
the medical record
c. To explain the risks of the surgery and the alternative forms of treatment
d. To check with the patient’s health plan and determine whether the procedure is covered by
insurance

Answer 5

To have procedures that will ensure surgery does not begin unless consent is documented in
the medical record

Question 6

Most states now apply which standard to questions about what risks should be disclosed to
the patient for informed consent?
a. What most reasonable physicians disclose
b. What The Joint Commission requires
c. What the American Medical Association requires
d. What reasonable patients would want to know

Answer 6

What reasonable patients would want to know

Question 7

Controversies about decisions to withhold certain life‐prolonging procedures (e.g., artificial
feeding) from incompetent, terminally ill patients occasionally make headlines. Which of the
following is the best general summary of most courts’ decisions in such cases?
a. Foregoing such procedures is legally justifiable when they would have no apparent
therapeutic benefit and the patient would not have wanted his condition prolonged.
b. It is the courts’ and medical professionals’ responsibility to preserve life at almost any cost.
c. It is for the spouse or closest relative to decide.
d. The primary consideration is to preserve the ethical integrity of the medical profession.

Answer 7

Foregoing such procedures is legally justifiable when they would have no apparent
therapeutic benefit and the patient would not have wanted his condition prolonged.

Question 8

Which of the following factors is not relevant to a decision whether to provide nonemergency
care to a competent 17‐year‐old.
a. The individual is married.
b. The individual is a member of the US Armed Forces.
c. The individual is a high‐school graduate.
d. The individual is mature, and the treatment is relatively minor.

Answer 8

The individual is mature, and the treatment is relatively minor.

Question 9

True or False :

A person cannot legally refuse a procedure that, without, the patient WILL die.

Answer 9

False

Question 10

If a woman in unconscious and in active labor, it would be proper to provide medical care
a. under the concept of implied consent
b. If physician explains the risks of the procedure, but does not tell the patient about other
alternative treatments, it is not informed consent
d. If a patient refuses treatment, the physician is no longer required to provide information about
risks, benefits, and consequences

Answer 10

under the concept of implied consent

Question 11

Even if a competent, adult patient consents to a treatment, if the procedure is high risk, the
a. physician must also secure consent from:
b. Next of kin (closest family member)
Spouse
c. Either a spouse OR closest family member
d. None of these

Answer 11

None of these

Question 12

The federal law that requires evaluation of persons who come to a hospital emergency room is
called
A. OSHA
b. EMTALA
C. ERISA
d. EXCULPA

Answer 12

emtala

Question 13

True of False: As a matter of common law, a physician has no duty to respond to a stranger’s call for medical
assistance.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

True or False:Under federal law, a woman who is in labor is considered to have an emergency condition.

Answer 14

true

Question 15

A man is seriously injured at midnight in an automobile accident. His life appears to be in
jeopardy. Paramedics take him to the nearest hospital, a small facility in a rural area. The
hospital has an urgent‐care department but not what you would call an emergency room. There
is no physician on duty. Which of the following is the best summary of what the hospital’s
staff should do first?
a. Determine whether the man has insurance
b. Ask the paramedics to take him straight to the nearest trauma center
c. Call a physician for advice
d. Examine the patient and stabilize his condition the best they can

Answer 15

Examine the patient and stabilize his condition the best they can

Question 16

The federal law regarding examination and treatment of emergency medical conditions applies
only to persons who are uninsured and declare that they do not have the ability to pay.
True
False

Answer 16

False

Question 17

When can a patient who appears at a hospital and asks for emergency treatment be transferred
to another facility?
a. Never
b. After the patient has been admitted and the condition is no longer an emergency
c. When a transfer is in the patient’s best interests, medically speaking
d. When no physician is on duty

Answer 17

When a transfer is in the patient’s best interests, medically speaking

Question 18

EMTALA applies to anyone on hospital property who the hospital determines has an
emergency medical condition, even if the individual is not in the emergency department.
True
False

Answer 18

True

Question 19

A patient in a hospital‐owned ambulance is considered to have “come to the hospital” for
purposes of the federal law on emergency medical care.
True
False

Answer 19

True

Question 20

Which of the following statements is the best summary of a hospital’s duty of care in
emergency cases?
a. Once care has begun, the hospital has a duty to provide reasonable treatment under the
circumstances in the patient’s best interests.
b. Once the patient has been screened, he should be transferred to a public hospital if he has no
insurance coverage.
c.If no attending physician is on duty, the patient should be transferred immediately to a
hospital that has a fully staffed emergency department.
d. If the patient is seen by a resident or intern, the hospital will not be liable unless that person
was negligent.

Answer 20

Once care has begun, the hospital has a duty to provide reasonable treatment under the
circumstances in the patient’s best interests.

Question 21

A man is seen in the emergency department and is found to have a condition that the hospital
is not equipped to treat. Which of the following statements is the best summary of the
hospital’s responsibility to the patient?
a. Immediately transfer him to a hospital that can treat his problem
b. Stabilize the condition and transfer him to the nearest hospital
c. Stabilize the condition and transfer him to a hospital that is equipped to treat him properly
d. Recall the ambulance and ask the paramedics to take over

Answer 21

Stabilize the condition and transfer him to a hospital that is equipped to treat him properly

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of the major US antitrust laws?

a. Sherman Act
b. Clayton Act
c. Powell Act
d. Federal Trade Commission Act

Answer 22

Powell Act

Question 23

The antitrust laws are based on the premise that free markets are a good thing.
True
False

Answer 23

True

Question 24

The board members of XYZ Corporation discuss among themselves how to increase the market
share for XYZ Widgets. Eventually these widgets beat out the competition and are the only
brand of this type of product remaining on the market. What is the most likely analysis of the
situation from the standpoint of antitrust law?
a. The board members’ discussions amount to a conspiracy to restrain trade.
b. The board members are guilty of an attempt to monopolize.
c. Because the company has in fact created a monopoly, it has violated the antitrust laws.
d. The mere fact that these widgets have cornered the market does not prove a violation.

Answer 24

The mere fact that these widgets have cornered the market does not prove a violation.

Question 25

Ocwen, Inc., makes a doodad that competes directly with XYZ Corporation’s gizmo. Both
companies are beating themselves up trying to outdo the other. Over lunch the two CEOs come
to terms: Ocwen will sell its doodads west of the Mississippi; XYZ will sell its gizmos only in
the East. What antitrust violation have the CEOs committed?
a. Division of markets
b. Price fixing
c. Monopolization
d. Tying arrangement

Answer 25

division of markets

Question 26

Which federal law prohibits unfair or deceptive practices, such as making false promises about
a product, sending billing for unsolicited merchandise, using high‐pressure door‐to‐door sales
methods, and bait‐and‐switch techniques?
A. Sherman Antitrust Act
b. Federal Trade Commission Act
c. Adam Clayton Powell Act
d. Interstate Commerce Act

Answer 26

Federal Trade Commission Act

Question 27

A whistle‐blower lawsuit is also known as a qui tam lawsuit.
True
False

Answer 27

True

Question 28

Which of the following is not considered a violation of the False Claims Act?

a. Billing for services that were not rendered
b. Billing for services provided by someone other than the claimant
c. Billing one charge for a battery of tests performed as a single lab procedure
d. Billing for a higher DRG payment rate than the diagnosis justifies

Answer 28

Billing one charge for a battery of tests performed as a single lab procedure

Question 29

Which of the following statutes is not related to healthcare fraud?

a. Sherman Act
b. False Claims Act
c. Anti‐kickback law
d. Stark self‐referral law

Answer 29

Sherman Act

Question 30

Dr. Sheehan is part owner of a small “reference lab” business. When his patients need blood
work done, he sends them to that lab because it is in the same building, it is convenient for the
patient, he will receive the results quickly, and the staff do good work. Has Dr. Sheehan
violated a law?
Yes
No

Answer 30

Yes

Question 31

A healthcare organization’s process for promoting honest, ethical, and responsible conduct
and preventing violations of law is usually referred to as a(n)
a. internal audit system
b. business protection plan
c. responsible action process
d. corporate compliance program

Answer 31

corporate compliance program

Question 32

The landmark US Supreme Court abortion decision was named

a. Wade v. Bolton
b. Bush v. Gore
c. Planned Parenthood v. Casey
d. Roe v. Wade

Answer 32

Roe v. Wade

Question 33

Because some abortions are legal and the government cannot discriminate against the poor,
Medicaid recipients are entitled to have abortions paid for by federal funds.
True
False

Answer 33

False

Question 34

When the Supreme Court considers the validity of a state’s law restricting abortion, which of
the following is the primary criterion it uses?
a. Whether the restriction is an undue burden on a woman’s decision
b. Whether the right to choose is consistent with privacy law
c. The level of state funding for the procedure
d. Whether the father of the child has been consulted

Answer 34

Whether the restriction is an undue burden on a woman’s decision

Question 35

Contraception and voluntary sterilization present few if any significant legal issues today.
True
False

Answer 35

true

Question 36

A government‐owned hospital usually may not prohibit lawful abortions and sterilizations.
True
False

Answer 36

true

Question 37

The concept of “medical records” includes digital images.
True
False

Answer 37

True

Question 38

The concept of “health information” includes a physician’s dictation about patients if that
dictation is recorded in electronic form.
True
False

Answer 38

True

Question 39

Which of the following is the federal law that contains privacy standards for health
information?
a. EMTALA
b. ERISA
c. HIPAA
d. OSHA

Answer 39

HIPAA

Question 40

Legal requirements for maintaining medical records are most often found in which of the
following?
a. State corporation laws
b. Regulations of state licensing agencies
c. Regulations of the Department of Labor
d. Federal charitable corporation law

Answer 40

Regulations of state licensing agencies

Question 41

Which of the following events is a hospital not normally required to report to public
authorities for statistical purposes?
a. Births and deaths
b. Diagnoses of infectious and communicable diseases
c. Gunshot wounds
d. Slip‐and‐fall cases

Answer 41

Slip and fall cases

Question 42

Meaning of Qui tam

Answer 42

He who sues for the king as well as for himself.

Private attorney generals file suit on behalf of the government.