MC Ch. 7 Flashcards
Professional sonographers must be
Aware of the legal and ethical issues associated with patient care.
Patient rights
Professional Accountability- resposibility for events for which one may have to give a judicial explanation
Laws- rules of conduct enforces be a controlling authority
Goal of medical law
Is to protect people, correct injustice and compensate for injury
The underpinnings (strengthening’s) of the law are:
Concern for justice and fairness
Need for laws to be pliable (flexible)
Similar standards of performance
Individual rights and responsibilities
Inherent human desire to do good and to avoid evil
Natural law
Effect the individual rather than society as a whole
Civil law
Enforced by the fed/state legislatures to uphold social order and to protect the rights of individuals
Freedom of choice
Legal rights
Moral rights
Statuatory law
Enacted by agencies under government auspices (protection) such as OSHA
Administrative law
Court-made law based on custom and usage
*Malpractice law suits
Common law
Intentional or unintentional wrongful acts resulting in injury to person or property
Torts
- Assault
- Battery
- Confidentiality
Intentional Tort
Inflicting/ threatening physical injury through force or violence
Assault
Unlawful touching of another with or without injury
Battery
HIPAA
Confidentiality
- Negligence
- Duty
- Breach
- Harm
- Causation
Unintentional Torts
Most common, failure to use reasonable care (medical malpractice)
Negligence
Standard of care
Duty
Failure to meet standard of care
Breach
Injury suffered by patient
Harm
Failure of patients care was actual cause of injury
Causation
Expert witness is required to
Establish standard of care
Right to prevent unauthorized contact with his or her person
- written
- verbal
- implied
- Exception is in emergency situations
Informed consent
Legal responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions-negligence of based on 5 doctrines of liability
Liability
Let the master answer - sonographers employer can be held liable as long as the sonographer is acting within scope of practice (doctrine of liability)
Master-servant (respondeat superior)
Atternding physicians held liable; no longer used (doctrine of liability)
Borrowed servant (captain of the ship)
Hospital held reponsible if sonographer is a contractor or independent agent
Ostensible agency
(the thing that speaks for itself) a rule of evidence
Res ipsa loquitur
The illegal detention of a person without consent
- use of restraints
- use of verbal threats
False imprisonment
- Chaperones
- Policy and procedure manuals
- Scope of practice
- Malpractice insurance-occurrence vs. claims-made policies
- Guidelines-performance, assistance, record keeping, knowledge of state laws
- Alternatives to malpractice litigation-risk management programs and QA progams
Protection against lawsuits
Sonographers best friend
Documentation
Used in event that a patient suffers injuries while in your care
Incident report
- Supoenas- requires witness to appear and testify
- Depositions
- Testifying
- Expert witnesses
Being called as a witness
- Abortion
- Recording OB exams
- Non diagnostic use of ultrasound
- Confidentiality
- Competency
- Professional Disclosure
Ethical dilemmas
Practice in a safe, ethical and competent manner
- Explain procedure and what you expect of patient
- Work with care to avoid causing injury
- Question any abnormal instructions
- Maintain accurate records/ documents
- Do not perform procedures you were not taught
- Do not fail to meet the standard of care
- Do not contribute to injury
Safe and sound sonography goals
- Deontology
- Teleology
- Beneficence
- Nonmaleficence
Basic concepts of ethics
Study of duty, moral obligation, and taking the right action
Deontology
Study of evidence of design and purpose of nature
Teleology
Duty to promote good
Beneficence
Above all do no harm
Nonmaleficence
- Identify the problem
- Gather pertinent information
- Identify solutions
- Evaluate consequences
- Make decision
- Act on decision
- Evaluate results
Ethical decision making
