Intro to RadTech: Medicollegal Considerations Flashcards
What is criminal law?
- litigation filed by government
- offense against state (or society at large)
- punishment: incarceration, fine, or execution
What is civil law?
- A private party lawsuit
- defendant: Never incarcerated, nor executed
- consequences: “damages” (monetary)
What is a tort?
“A wrongful act for which a civil action will lie…”
- personal injury law
- governs rights between two individuals in non-criminal (civil) actions
- allows for monetary compensation
What are the two types of torts?
- intentional Misconduct
* unintentional misconduct (negligence)
What is the difference between a medical malpractice lawsuit vs. other civil lawsuit?
Lack of an “equal footing”
What are the five types of intentional misconduct?
- assault
- battery
- invasion of privacy
- defamation of character
- false imprisonment
What is civil assault?
The threat of injury
Causing apprehension is considered assault
What is civil battery?
Where actual bodily harm has been inflicted
Examples:
• touching a patient without consent
• exposing the wrong patient
• causing mental or emotional anguish
Examples of invasion of privacy
- unnecessarily touching or exposing a patient
* sharing confidential information about patients
What does HIPAA stand for?
Health insurance portability and accountability act
defamation of character?
• three conditions are necessary to constitute defamation
- Damaged reputation resulted
- statement is untrue
- person defaming another knew that the information was untrue
Slander: spoken defamation
Libel: written defamation
What is false imprisonment?
Unnecessarily confining or restraining a patient without the patient’s permission
What is unintentional misconduct?
A breach or failure to fulfill the expected standards of care
Proving negligence requires what four elements?
- standard of care must be established
- prove breach of duty was by the technologist
- injury to the patient actually occurred
- cause of injury from the worker’s negligence
What are the types of negligence?
Gross negligence: involves “reckless disregard for life and limb”
Contributory negligence: behavior of the injured person contributed to the injury
Corporate negligence: where the organization as an entity is negligent
Patient consent is…?
Written
Oral
Implied
Consent can be removed at any time
What are the three conditions for consent to be legal?
- legal age and mentally competent
- consent must be given voluntarily
- the patient must be adequately informed
Informed consent?
- reasons for exam
- procedure
- potential risk
- who will perform procedure
- written consent for some exams
- need patient signature to prove permission
What is Respondeat Superior
This doctrine finds the employer of the negligent employee jointly liable for negligence
Latin meaning: let the master answer
What is Res Ipsa Loquitur
Latin meaning: the thing speaks for itself
What are the seven C’s of malpractice prevention?
- Competence
- Compliance
- Charting
- Communication(w/ patient and health care workers)
- Confidentiality
- Courtesy
- Caution
What is borrowed servant?
- a principle under which the party usually liable for a persons actions (such as a hospital) is absolved of responsibility when that “ borrowed servant” is asked to do something(e.g. By a surgeon), which is outside of the bounds of hospital policy
- the surgeon may be liable for wrongful acts by the employee in this example
What are the categories for reporting?
• domestic violence
- Child abuse
- spousal abuse
- elder abuse
• injuries
- personal or patient
- equipment malfunction
- excessive radiation exposure
- communicable diseases
Who is a mandated reporter?
• all medical personnel • school and child care personnel • law enforcement • others - I.e. Social workers, foster parents • all citizens have responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves
What is failure to report?
• a misdemeanor
- Maximum penalty in county jail not to exceed 6 months and/or
- A fine not to exceed $1000
• false reporting is also a misdemeanor
- liable for damages caused
- recent case resulted in RT incarceration(from reading radiographs- with no radiologist)
• revocation of professional license or certificate
ways to Recognize abuse
• Physical Abuse
- Agitation
- Bruises- especially in clusters or patterns
- Fractures
- Lacerations, puncture wounds
- Rashes
- Malnourishment, dehydration
• Emotional Abuse
- Agitation
- Fearful Behavior
- Withdrawal and apathy
- Unusual behavior, i.e. biting, sucking or rocking
Some abuse statistics
2-4 million women are battered each year
- death: 2000 (80-90 percent of domestic violence cases are female)
• approx 900,000 parents are beaten or abused by their children each year
• approx 6 million children are seriously abused each year(3 million reports per year)
- death: over 1000
• sexual abuse of children: 20 percent of children
- usually by someone they know
- starts are different for males and females
What does MDR stand for?
Medical Device Reporting
Is a federal program (FDA)
Requires reporting by “mandatory reporters”
For medical devices that contribute to serious illness, serious injury, or death
Includes occurrences that may be attributed to user error
What is charting?
• refers to any records to which you are expected to add to a document
Example: a requisition in the M.I. Department is electronic
- RIS
Accuracy is a must
“If it is not written, then it didn’t happen”
What is California code of regulations CCR 2500(b) and 2500(c) in regards to communicable diseases?
“Duty of every health care provider, knowing of or in attendance on a case or suspected case of any of reportable diseases, to report to the local health officer for the jurisdiction where the patient resides.”
What are the reporting agencies?
FDA- food and drug administration Medwatch OSHA Workers compensation Law enforcement State of California -radiologic health branch -department of social services
Charting
Refers to any records to which you are expected to add to a document.
Example: a “requisition” in the M.I. Department is electronic
-RIS(textbook refers to RIMS: radiologic information management system)
Accuracy is a must
“If it is not written, then it didn’t happen
RIS (or RIMS)
Can contain: • limited info about patient • allergies • pertinent lab values • patients location • imaging procedures performed • radiologist reports • can order and bill through this system also
Annotations
The RT is responsible to enter(chart) pertinent data about the exam and/or patient
Example: change in patient status; treatments; medications given
Include
• date
• time( in 24 hour clock system)
• use your full signature, if required, not initials)
According to California law how long must images be kept?
7 years
