Legal & Regulatory Flashcards
Who regulates professional nursing practice?
The states–State Board of Nursing
What are actions by the states that regulate nursing practice?
- Establishing requirements to obtain a license
- Issuing licenses
- Determining the scope of practice
- Setting minimum education standards
- Managing disciplinary procedures
Members of the State Board of Nursing
9 RNs 1 Nurse Midwife 1 CRNA 1 NP 3 LPNs 8 Public Members
What entity issues licenses?
The States
What entity issues certifications?
National organization specific to the certification
True or False: Certification requires minimal knowledge to be safe
False–certification requires advanced knowledge
Licensure requires minimal knowledge
Does licensure or certification define the practice of nursing?
Licensure–it is illegal to practice without it
True or False: Renewal of both licensure and certification require continuing education.
True
Health Care Law
The collection of law that have a direct impact on the delivery of health care or on the relationships among those in the business of health care or between the providers and the recipients of health care
Legislation
The process of introducing, adopting, changing or repealing a law
Regulation
The process of putting law into action through the establishment of rules
Litigation
The process of seeking help through the courts to address a perceived wrong
When does Tort Law come into play?
When someone suffers from a wrong-doing such as negligence, breach of duty, harm, standard of care, etc.
What are the objectives of Tort Law?
Seek compensation
Shift cost to the entity responsible
Discourage behavior in the future
Vindicate rights that have been compromised/diminished
In Tort Law, the plaintiff must prove…
that the defendant was obligated to do something, that the defendant breached their duty, and that the breach caused suffering/damage
Social Security Act (1965)
established Medicare & Medicaid
Older Americans Act (1965)
- created the agencies on aging at the local, state, and national level
- provides funding for nutrition, supportive home & community-based services, disease prevention/health promotion services, elder rights programs, the National Family Caregiver Support Program, and the Native American Caregiver Support Program
Americans With Disabilities Act (1990)
- Prohibits discrimination based on disability
- Requires employers to provide accommodations
- Accessibility requirements for public accommodations
COBRA (1985)
Temporary insurance coverage for people who lost their job, got divorced, or recently widowed
Emergency Medical Treatment & Active Labor Act (1991)
- Part of COBRA
- Hospitals must provide emergency care to EVERYONE regardless of their citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay
- Cannot transfer or discharge patient without informed consent or stabilization
Patient Self-Determination Act (1991)
- Advanced medical directives
- Living will
- Durable power of attorney
- DNR
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (1993)
Allows employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) (1996)
Patient confidentiality
Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (2010)
- Ends preexisting conditions exclusions for children
- Coverage from parents until age 26
- Right to appeal denial of payment
- Ends lifetime limits on coverage
- Reviews premium increases
- Emergency care outside of network
- Better choice of doctors
- Preventative care at no cost
Examples of State Laws
- licensing of professionals
- scope of practice
- laws relating to public health & disease prevention/control
- consent
- advanced directives
- physician assisted suicide
- immunizations
- child abuse & neglect notification
- workers compensation
- elder abuse
- right to die with dignity
List of Notifiable Disease
- HIV/AIDS
- Botulism
- Chlamydia
- Diphtheria
- Giardiasis
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Hepatitis
- Measles
- Mumps
- Rubella
- Smallpox
What 4 elements must be satisfied in order to prove medical malpractice?
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation
- Harm
Failure to follow the “standard of care” (communication, using equipment properly, etc.)
Malpractice
Employer Liability
employer is liable for the act of its employee(s) if the employee(s) was acting as an agent of the employer and the actions resulted in injury within the scope of employment
Nursing’s Social Policy Statement serves as…
a resource for nurses to conceptualize their practice and for educators, administrators, and researchers in the field of nursing
Nursing’s Social Policy Statement is a contract between…
society and the profession
Nursing’s Social Policy Statement reflects…
the professions long-standing core values and ethics
Nursing’s Social Policy Statement states that nurses provide care for…
all who are in need, regardless of their cultural, social, or economic standing
