Legal Issues

Question 1

laws written and enacted by legislative bodies

Answer 1

statutory laws

Question 2

EMTALA

Answer 2

1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law…“anti-dumping law” stating can never turn away a patient for any reason

Question 3

ADA

Answer 3

1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

Question 4

PSDA

Answer 4

Patient Self-Determination Act

Question 5

HIPAA

Answer 5

Health Information Portability Accountability Act

Question 6

statue defining the scope of professional nursing practice regulated through state board of nursing

Answer 6

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

Question 7

What statute defines the term “RN”?

Answer 7

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

Question 8

What statute describes professional nursing functions?

Answer 8

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

Question 9

What statute defines standards of competence?

Answer 9

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

Question 10

What statute defines behavioral misconduct?

Answer 10

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

Question 11

What statute outlines grounds for disciplinary action?

Answer 11

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

Question 12

What statute describes fines & penalties?

Answer 12

Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

Question 13

Who decides the cases when violations of the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) occur?

Answer 13

State Board of Nursing

Question 14

What are the incidents in which reporting abuse is required?

Answer 14

child abuse, elder abuse, peer substance abuse

Question 15

law that is created through the cases heard and decided in court that provide guidelines for deciding future cases

Answer 15

common/case law

Question 16

laws concerning conduct that is considered unacceptable…based on societal expectations regarding interpersonal conduct (malpractice, negligence, and assault/ batter)

Answer 16

civil/ tort law

Question 17

failure to act in a reasonable and prudent manner…conduct lacking in care

Answer 17

negligence

Question 18

failure of a person with a professional education and skills to act in a reasonable and prudent manner

Answer 18

malpractice

Question 19

These are examples of what?…assault, battery, defamation of character (slander & libel), false imprisonment, invasion of privacy

Answer 19

intentional torts

Question 20

What are the elements needed to prove malpractice?

Answer 20

duty, breach of duty, injury, injury occurred due to breach

Question 21

established nurse-patient relationship

Answer 21

duty

Question 22

legal doctrine applicable to cases in which the provider had exclusive control of events that resulted in the patient’s injury

Answer 22

res ipsa loquitor- “the thing speaks for itself”

Question 23

reckless and conscious disregard for the patient’s welfare

Answer 23

gross negligence

Question 24

What makes causation hard to prove in court?

Answer 24

clear and thorough documentation

Question 25

legal doctrine that holds an employer indirectly responsible for the negligent acts of employees carried out within the scope of employment

Answer 25

respondeat superior- "captain of the ship"/ "let the master answer"

Question 26

person who tracks accidents and injuries, strengthens the systems within the agency to reduce preventable patient injuries, and tracks incident reports

Answer 26

risk manager

Question 27

body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government

Answer 27

administrative law

Question 28

the threat of harmful or offensive contact with a person

Answer 28

assault

Question 29

actual physical violence

Answer 29

battery

Question 30

partial legal defense that reduces the amounts of damages rewarded based upon the degree to which the patient's own negligence contributed to cause the injury

Answer 30

comparative negligence

Question 31

harming someone's reputation by making false statements

Answer 31

defamation of character

Question 32

form of sentencing designed to enable offenders to avoid criminal charges and a criminal record

Answer 32

diversion program

Question 33

wrongdoing

Answer 33

malfeasance

Question 34

national database for verification of nurse licensure, discipline, and practice priveleges

Answer 34

NURSYS

Question 35

cautiousness

Answer 35

prudence

Question 36

time limit a person has to file a claim

Answer 36

statute of limitations

Question 37

legal doctrine, sometimes referred to as absolute liability, which can be imposed on a person or entity (hospital) without proof of carelessness or negligence

Answer 37

strict liability

Question 38

a wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to civil legal liability

Answer 38

tort

Question 39

Any proceeding brought by one or more parties against another one or more parties in a court of law

Answer 39

suit

Question 40

legal doctrine in which a person or institution is liable for the negligent acts of another because of a special relationship between the two parties (substituted liability)

Answer 40

vicarious liability

Question 41

What are the grounds for disciplinary action by a State Board of Nursing?

Answer 41

practicing w/o a license, failure to use appropriate nursing judgment, guilty felony, falsification of records, failure to document, incorrect documentation, failure to practice according to nursing standards, inappropriate behavior at work, medicare fraud, misappropriation of person items

Question 42

emotional damages

Answer 42

general

Question 43

lost wages in damages

Answer 43

special

Question 44

monetary compensation awarded to an injured person that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate for losses and is intended to punish the wrongdoer

Answer 44

punitive dmages

Question 45

telling the patient & family about the mistake results in less severe consequences

Answer 45

transparency

Question 46

What are the most frequent allegations of nursing negligence?

Answer 46

failure to communicate/ report, failure to monitor the pt & report significant findings, failure to ensure pt safety, failure to rescue, improper treatment or negligent performance of the treatment, medication errors, failure to follow policies/ procedures, failure to invoke the chain of command/ access line of authority

Question 47

These are examples of what?... illegal practice of medicine, failing to report abuse, falsifying medication records, assault/ battery

Answer 47

Misdemeanors

Question 48

These are examples of what?... drugs, fraud, theft, rape, murder

Answer 48

Felonies

Question 49

a legal document (type of advance directive) in which a competent adult makes known his/her wishes regarding care that will be provided int he final stages of a terminal illness

Answer 49

living will

Question 50

a specific living-will document listing the desires of the patient in a particular scenario like cardiac arrest

Answer 50

Medical or Physician Directive

Question 51

What document does a physician base a DNR order on?

Answer 51

Medical or Physician Directive

Question 52

a legal document that authorizes the patient to name the person (the health care proxy) who will make the day-to-day decisions once he or she is decisionally incompetient

Answer 52

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPAHC)

Question 53

person who is designated in a living will or power of attorney to make decisions for the patient

Answer 53

health-care surrogate

Question 54

What are nurses legally bound to report to nurse managers, agency administration and risk managers?

Answer 54

critical incidents

Question 55

report outlining critical incidents that happen in the healthcare setting

Answer 55

Incident Report or "Unusual Occurrence" Report

Question 56

process of identifying, analyzing and controlling risks posed to patients

Answer 56

risk management

Question 57

negligence that indicates "reckless and wanton" disregard for the safety, well-being or life of an individual (behavior that demonstrates complete disregard for another, such that death is likely

Answer 57

criminal negligence

Question 58

an injury caused by medical management rather than the patient's underlying condition

Answer 58

preventable adverse event