Legal and Ethical Flashcards
MHPA
Medicaid Health Plans of America
EMTALA
Emergency Medicine Treatment and Labor Act (all people have the right to receive ermegency medicine care regardless of financial or insurance status)
PSDA
Patient Self-Determination Act (gives people the right to make life-sustaining decisions before becoming incapacitated)
Criminal law
Prosecutor has the burden of proof as to whether the nurse has committed a legal offense beyond a reasonable doubt
Civil law
Dispute between individuals or an individual and organization
(victim would be awarded compensation)
Tort
Carrying out an act, or failing to carry out an act, which results in harm to a patient
Unintentional tort
Nurse does not intend to cause harm, but harm results from malpractice or negligence
Quasi-intentional tort
- Breach of confidentiality
- Defamation
- Privacy violation (looking in a pt’s chart who you aren’t caring for)
Intentional tort
Battery, assault, false imprisonment
Purpose of the ANA code of ethics
- Establishes ethical standards and provides guide for ethical decision making
- Expresses values, virtues, and obligations that inform nursing
- Nurses are expected to adhere to the values, ideals, and norms of the profession
Which laws are Statutory law?
State laws
NPA
Licensure
Public health laws
Good Samaritan Law
Patient rights
Which laws are regulatory laws?
Mandatory reporting
Administrative laws
What are Standards of Care?
Legal guidelines for defining nursing practice and identifying acceptable nursing care
Define delegation
Transferring authority to another nurse or AP to perform a task in a specific situation (patient’s RN still needs to supervise and make sure task was completed)
Consider job/role, scope of practice, competence, and situation
Define supervision
Responsibility of the RN to monitor, establish the initial direction, delegation, expectations, and courses of action, evaluation, and changing course of action
What kind of law describes who can give informed consent?
State law
What is the nurse’s responsibility in ensuring informed consent?
- Ensure provider gave the necessary info
- Ensure client understood information
- Ensure client is competent to give consent
- Witness the consent was signed by the client or AP
- Document
*If client isn’t fully informed, tell provider
Define professional negligence
Failure of a person who has professional training to act in reasonable and prudent manner (as determined by judgment, intelligence, foresight, and skill of a person with similar training)
Duty of Care
To behave in a manner within scope of practice
Breach of Duty
To demonstrate how the nurse deviated from their duty
Causation
Proof the nurse’s breach of duty was the cause of the injury or loss
Damages
Injuries or damages to client were a result of the breach of duty by the nurse
Healthcare Bill of Rights
Outlines the rights of patients regards to:
* treatment
* relationships
* information
* confidentiality
* privacy
What is the nurse’s role with advanced directives?
- Teach about purpose of ADs
- Ensure AD is documented when exists
- Advocate for patient’s wishes
Good Samaritan Law
Legal duty to provide reasonable assistance to others exposed to or in peril of grave physical harm (includes attempting to get help from a more qualified person)
Not liable for civil damanges unless acting in a intentionally reckless manner
In which situations is a nurse required to report as a mandated reporter?
- Abuse or neglect
- Communicable disease to MDH (control and prevent spread)
Define Privacy Rule and Security Rule of HIPAA
Privacy Rule requires HIPAA-covered entities (health plans and most health care providers) to provide individuals, upon request, with access to PHI about them in one or more “designated record sets” maintained by or for the covered entity.
HIPAA Security Rule requires physicians to protect patients’ electronically stored, protected health information (known as “ePHI”) by using appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and security of this information.
Which situations include disclosing/using PHI for treatment?
- Continuation of care
- Treatment team
- Referrals
In which situations can you access/disclose PHI for payment?
- Billing
- Insurance verifation
- Payment processing
In which situations can you access/disclose PHI for healthcare operations?
- Quality review
- Legal
- Educational purposes
Administrative PHI safeguards
- Orientation
- Workforce education
- SOPs
Physical PHI safeguards
- locked areas
- badges
- shredders
Technical PHI safegaurds
- locking workstations
- encryption
- access controls
