Medicolegal & Ethics Flashcards
Abandonment
Termination of care without assurance that an equal or greater level of care will continue.
DNR
Do Not Resuscitate
Definitive Care
Care that will improve, rather than simply stabilize, a patient’s condition.
(surgery or other care provided in a hospital).
Expressed Consent
1) Patient of legal age.
2) Patient must be informed.
3) Must be obtained from conscious, competent adults.
Implied Consent
Assumption that a patient would agree to medical care if able.
Medical Control — Off-line
Standing orders which allow the EMT’s to provide care without direct contact with a physician.
Medical Control — On-line
Direct order received from the physician to provide care.
May be requested at any time.
Medical Director
Physician who authorizes the EMT’s in the service to provide medical care in the field.
Negligence
The omission of the care that is usual under the circumstances.
4 elements necessary to prove negligence:
1) Duty to Act
2) Breach of the Duty
3) Injury or Damages Inflicted
4) Actions or Omissions Caused Damages
Scope of Practice
Defines the procedures, actions, and processes that are permitted for the licensed individual.
NOTE: You absolutely cannot do anything that is outside of your Scope of Practice.
Americans With Disabilities Act
(ADA)
Comprehensive legislation that is designed to protect people with disabilities against discrimination.
Certification
A process in which a person, an institution, or a program is evaluated and recognized as meeting certain predetermined standards to provide safe and ethical care.
Community Paramedicine
A healthcare model in which experienced paramedics receive advanced training to provide services in prehospital environments.
Services include:
— Health evaluations
— Monitoring of chronic illnesses / conditions
— Patient advocacy.
Continuous Quality Improvement
(CQI)
A system of internal and external review audits of all aspects of an EMS system aiming at improving outcomes.
Credentialing
And establish process to determine the qualifications necessary to be allowed to practice a particular profession, or to function as an organization.
Emergency Medical Dispatch
(EMD)
A system that assists dispatchers and selecting appropriate units to respond to a particular call for assistance, and provides callers with vital instructions until the arrival of EMS crews.
Emergency Medical Responder
(EMR)
A first trained professional, such as a police officer, fire fighter, lifeguard, or other rescuer, who may arrive first at the scene of an emergency to provide initial medical assistance.
Emergency Medical Services
(EMS)
A multidisciplinary system that represents the combined efforts of several professionals and agencies to provide prehospital emergency care to the sick and injured.
Emergency Medical Technician
(EMT)
An individual who has training in basic life support, including automated external defibrillation, use of a definitive airway adjunct, and assisting patients with certain medication.
Advanced EMT
(AEMT)
An individual who has training in specific aspects of advanced life support, such as intravenous therapy, and the administration of certain emergency medications.
Automated External Defibrillator
(AED)
A device that the text treatable life-threatening cardiac dysrhythmias (ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia), and delivers the appropriate electrical shock to a patient.
Evidence-based Medicine
(EBM)
An approach to medicine where decisions are based on well-conducted research, classifying recommendations based on the strength of the scientific evidence; also called science-based medicine.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA)
Federal legislation passed in 1996.
It’s main effect and EMS is in limiting availability of patients’ healthcare information and penalizing violations of patient privacy
Licensure
The process whereby a competent authority, usually the state, allows people to perform a regulated act.
