Legal Flashcards
What constitutes a reportable death in Australia under the Coroners act of 2003?
- Unexpected
- Violent or unnatural
- A death on a flight/voyage into Australia or between states
- Of unknown cause
- Not certified by a doctor or where no death certificate will be issued
- A death in custody (ie police, mental health act etc)
- Persons identity is unknown
- Death has occurred during or soon after a medical treatment (ie intraoperative or <24hrs post operative)
What are the prerequisites for valid legal consent?
What are the important factors to consider regarding an adolescent giving consent?
What roughly are the factors that make up a Gillick competent child?
- understand the information relevant to the decision and the effect of the decision
- retain that information to the extent necessary to make that decision
- use or weigh that information as part of the process of making the decision
- communicate the decision and the person’s views and needs as to the decision in some way, including by speech, gestures or other means.
Basically establish if they have sufficient intelligence, maturity and understanding to make a complex medical decision
If they do not meet these criteria then a legal guardian must be found or department of child protection informed
What is Gillick Competence?
- Based on a UK legal case
- Applies to minors 14 and older
- If meet the “mature minor” assessment will have capacity to give consent
- Can NOT refuse consent with Gillick Competence
- However they can technically consent to palliative care if they have a terminal illness (technically refusing ongoing active management)
What is an emancipated minor and a medically emancipated minor?
- Emancipation requires a court order, for children over 14yo
- Can make all their own medical, financial etc decisions
- Medically emancipated minor can only make medical decisions
Do patients have right of access to hospital notes?
- They have right of access but must put in a formal request for access
- If they gain access they cannot reproduce the contents without permission as the doctor/hospital still has ownership of the notes
What are the important elements to ensure a patient is competent to make a decision?
- The ability to maintain and communicate a choice
- The ability to understand the relevant information ie the medical condition and treatment options
- The ability to remember and retain the information
- The ability to appreciate the situation and its consequences including adverse outcomes and their likelihood
- The ability to use or weigh the information in a rational fashion and to indicate the major factors in their decision
What puts you at risk of unsuccesful malpractive defense?
- Having inadequate or incomplete records of patient contacts including consent issues
- Good documentation = good defense
How should dealing with a angry family member in the context of reporting NAI be handled?
When should a child be placed under protection as per the children, youth and families act?
What criteria must be fulfilled for an Advanced Care Directive to be valid?
- Written voluntarily without evidence of coercion
- Written when patient was competent and had capacity
- Relevant to the current situation
What is the definition of medical negligence?
A failure to take reasonable care to prevent injury or loss to a patient
What are the 5 elements required to demonstrate negligence?
- The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff
- The duty of care was breached
- The breach causes the plaintifs injury/loss
- The defendant should have foreseen that harm would occur
- The plaintiff must have suffered adequate harm for compensation to be avaiable
What are the the 4 aspects of open disclosure?
- An apology or expression of regret
- A factual explanation of what occurred, including actual consequences
- An opportunity for the affected patient to relate their experience
- The steps taken to manage the event and prevent its recurrence
As per ACEM, what is the definition of having decision making capacity, and what elements must be present?
“Sufficient understanding and memory to comprehend in a general way the situation in which one finds oneself and the nature, purpose and consequences of any act or transaction into which one proposes to enter”
