Forensic Pathology Flashcards
It tells people what they MAY do.
What is this
Ethics
Tells people what they SHOULD do. They are written. What is this
Laws
Involve GENERALITIES
What is this
Ethical rules
Tends to be more specific
What is this
Laws
Primarily about the image of the person and the profession
What is this
Ethics
It is about the image of the society
What is this
Law
Which people enforce ethical standards
The professional bodies
Where are laws enforced
The courts
Provide boundaries set by society with sanctions such as fines, incarceration, or loss of license
What is this
Laws
Assists to moderate ethical tenets
What is this
The law
Which decisions supersedes decisions of professional bodies
Court decisions
What are some ethical codes of conduct for doctors
The Hippocratic Oath (5th century BC)
●International code of Medical ethics (WMA, 1949, 1968)
●The Physicians oath (1949, 1968)
●Induction ceremony for all medical graduates.
What is the Hippocratic oath concerned with
Hippocratic oath is concerned with doing no harm, refraining from abortions and giving of deadly drugs and maintaining strict confidentiality
What are the functions of the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana
●Supervision of medical education
●Maintenance of Medical Register.
●Professional discipline.
Explain professional discipline
The Medical Act also established:
i.The Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigating Panel (The Panel)
ii.The Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (DC)
NB; The following infamous acts or conducts may lead to professional misconduct, hence disciplinary action may be instituted against the offender.
What are some examples of infamous conduct
Abortion
●Adultery
●Alcohol
●Addiction
● Criminal association or organization(s)
●Advertising
●False certification
●Breech of professional secrecy
●Negligence
●Falsification of expenses, reports etc
Explain consent
●It is illegal to treat or examine without the consent of the patient.
●Consent can be implied or express.
●Implied consent covers history and physical examination in the clinic.
Express consent can be:
a. Oral
b. Written
●Oral consent for intimate examinations.
●Written consent for all surgical procedures
Explain validity of consent
Patient must understand the procedure
●Patient must be of age (16 years and above).
●Spousal consent (Marital rights).
●Next of kin in the unconscious
●Medical colleagues, if no next of kin and procedure is required to save life.
CONSENT NOT REQUIRED
●Prisoners
●Immigrants at the port of entry
●School children in state institutions
●Milk and food handlers.
●On probation order of the court
Explain refusal to consent
Jehovah witness and blood transfusion
●Children of Jehovah witness
●Adult Jehovah witness
i.Emergencies: preserve life
ii.Cold cases: give alternatives for blood
DOCTORS DILEMNA WITH AIDS
●Test are voluntary
●Results are confidential
●Confidential with married couples
●Doctors can only counsel affected individuals to disclose their status
Explain euthanasia (easy death or mercy killin
Painless putting to death of persons suffering from terminal disease.
●No legal provisions in most countries of the world including Ghana.
●It may be considered as:
● Suicide (done by the person)
●Homicide (done by another person)g
Mention some benefits of medical jurisprudence
Can be used to determine the paternity of a child
ii.Be employed to determine the identity of human bodies, which have been mutilated beyond recognition in accidents like bomb blast, factory explosions, abduction and killing of victims
iii.In the field of evidence laws, it can be appropriated to solve cases of involving murder, rape etc.
iv.Medical jurisprudence techniques like autopsy can be employed to discover important facts vital to the case after the person has died
Due to the heavy misuse and lack of knowledge of the courts as regards scientific evidence, they are hesitant in applying these techniques.
•In order to determine whether scientific evidence is admissible, the court may consider;
i.Whether the principle or technique has been or can be reliably tested
ii.Whether it has been subjected to peer review or publication
iii.Its known or potential rate of error
iv.Whether there are standards or organizations controlling the procedures of the technique
Whether it is generally accepted by the community and
ii.Whether the technique was created or conducted independently of the litigation
•The situation appears hearty only as regards autopsy reports, which have been given the status of documentary evidence under the Ghana evidence Act
•The complete benefit of this medical jurisprudential technique can be enjoyed only by an enactment recognizing these techniques as primary evidence, giving it the credit it deserves
What is an autopsy
Autopsy, also known as a postmortem examination, necropsy, autopsia cadaverum or obduction is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consist of a thorough examination of a dead body to determine:
i.Cause of death
ii.Mechanism of death
iii.Manner of death
●It is also used to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present before death
●Autopsy is usually performed by a specialized medical doctor called a Pathologist
Mention the types of autopsy
i. Medico-legal/ Forensic/Police autopsy
ii.Clinical or Pathological autopsy
iii.Academic/Anatomical autopsy
iv.Virtual or Medical Imaging autopsy
v.Verbal autopsy
When is a forensic autopsy carried out
Forensic/Medico-legal/Police autopsy is carried out when cause of death may be a criminal matter
When is a clinical autopsy performed
A clinical or academic autopsy is performed to find the medical cause of death and is used in cases of unknown or uncertain death or for research purposes
When are academic autopsies performed
Academic/Anatomical autopsies are performed by students of anatomy for studies purposes only
When are virtual autopsies performed
Virtual or Medical Imaging autopsies which are performed by utilizing imaging technology only (MRI, Computed Tomography)
What are the two purposes clinical autopsies serve
To gain more insight into pathological processes and determine what factors contributed to a patient’s death
ii.To ensure the standard of care at hospitals
NB:
● Autopsy can yield insight into how patient death can be prevented in future
Why do autopsies at all
●For accurate demography
●To prevent secret homicide
●To prevent accidents
●For auditing and quality assurance
●Improvement of medical care
What is a coroner autopsy
A Coroner is any magistrate in his/her jurisdiction
●A legally qualified person may be appointed coroner in a particular jurisdiction
●The following are unique features of coroner autopsies:
i.Ordered by the Coroner
ii.Consent of relations not required
iii.External/Internal examinations very important
iv.Report made in simple language
v.Report goes to the Coroner/ other legal authority
vi.You may go to court to present results or testify to the judge
