Chapter 3
True about informed consent:
- A physician does not have to inform a patient about risks that are commonly known.
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- Both physicians and patients have the right to terminate the contractual relationship. A physician who chooses to discontinue the treatment of a patient should notify the patient in writing the date the physician's services will be terminated.
four Ds of negligence?
. Direct cause Damages Duty
Which of the following is an example of an offer, a required component of a legal contract?
A physician decides to open an inner-city clinic.
Which of the following is an example of misfeasance?
A physician incorrectly performs an appendectomy. - Misfeasance is the improper performance of a lawful act.
All of the following duties are outside of a medical assistant's scope of practice except: C
A. prescribing medications. B. diagnosing medical conditions. C. performing electrocardiograms. D. interpreting electrocardiograms. -Performing electrocardiograms fall within the medical assistant's scope of practice.
The action of the patient agreeing to see a physician in a certain office at a certain time is an example of ______________________________ as it relates to a contract.
Acceptance -Acceptance occurs when one individual accepts the first person's offer, such as when a patient agrees to see a physician in a certain office at a certain time.
All of the following statements are true regarding malpractice insurance=
All physicians are expected to carry malpractice insurance. An obstetrician would likely pay more for malpractice insurance than a general practitioner. The cost of coverage increases as the requested cost of coverage increases. The cost of coverage is more expensive in highly populated metropolitan areas.
A 7-year old child would not be able to enter into a legal contract because it is a violation of what required contractual component?
Competence -Competence pertains to both parties being fully able to understand that they are entering into a contract. Minors, mentally incapacitated adults, or those who do not speak the native language of the other party are not able to enter into a contract because they lack competence.
A patient paying for services is an example of
Consideration -Consideration occurs when something of value is exchanged as when a patient pays for services.
A patient accuses a medical assistant of negligence that resulted in her broken ankle. The injury in this example falls under which of the four Ds of negligence?
Damages -Damages refers to any injuries that were received by the patient, such as the patient's broken ankle in this example.
Which of the following would most likely be considered an unintentional tort?
Injuring a patient by not exercising the ordinary or reasonable standard of care is an act of negligence and is an unintentional tort.
A physician who wishes to terminate the physician-patient contract with a specific patient should do which of the following first?
Notify the patient in writing -To avoid a charge of abandonment, a physician who wishes to terminate a physiciandashpatient contract should notify the patient in writing, usually with a certified letter and return receipt via the U.S. Postal Service.
This type of malpractice coverage will cover any claim for an incident that occurred while the insurance policy was in effect, even if the physician has different coverage when the claim is filed.
Occurrence coverage -Occurrence coverage will cover any claim for an incident that occurred while the insurance policy was in effect, even if the physician has different coverage when the claim is filed.
A patient who charges negligence must be able to prove which of the following?
That defendant's acts, or failure to act, directly caused the injury -To prove negligence, the person who files the lawsuit must prove that the defendant's acts (or failure to act) directly caused the injury.
Rights of a physician:
The right to decide the type of services they provide. The right to select the location of their medical practice. The right to select which patients they wish to treat. - The physician has the right to decide the type of services they provide, the patients they wish to treat, and the location of their medical practice.
In a claim of negligence, what is contributory negligence?
The patient's contribution to the injury -Contributory negligence relates to the patient's contribution to the injury.
A medical assistant must always work and perform duties ____________.
within their scope of practice. -A medical assistant must always work and perform duties within their scope of practice.
The Doctrine of Informed Consent includes:
discussion of the advantages and risks of the treatment. alternative treatments that are available to the patient. language that the patient can understand easily. -It is difficult to inform the patient about all the things that can go wrong with treatment, thus it is not included in the Doctrine of Informed Consent.
The patient pays cash for services rendered=
example of CONSIDERATION.
A physician may be found guilty of _____________________ because of improper performance of the medical assistant.
negligence -A physician may be found guilty of negligence because of improper performance of the medical assistant.
A physician is expected to do all of the following when treating a patient:
perform a complete physical examination. take a thorough medical history. order and evaluate laboratory tests and imaging procedures. -A reasonable and prudent physician would not expose a patient to unnecessary risk.
A physician must provide the same knowledge, care, and skill that a similarly trained physician would provide under the same circumstances in the same locality. This is known as the _________.
standard of care. -The standard of care states that a physician must provide the same knowledge, care, and skill that a similarly trained physician would provide under the same circumstances in the same locality.
A patient's rights in a physician-patient relationship include:
the right to expect that a physician will use the appropriate standard of care in providing care and treatment. the right to refuse treatment. the right to consent to treatment. - The patient is expected to be truthful and share all health care information with the physician, as withholding information can directly impact medical care
Patient Care Partnership, a patient's involvement in their care includes:
the right to refuse treatment. the right to consent to treatment. the right to choose their treatment options. --The Patient Care Partnership does not specify that the patient has the right to develop a plan of care for treatment.
If a physician cancels a claims-made insurance policy, a (an) _______________________________ policy will cover any claims that allege actions occurred during the time the physician was covered under claims-made coverage.
tail-coverage -Tail-coverage will cover any claims that allege actions occurred during the time the physician was covered under claims-made coverage.