law and ethics for professionals mid term chapter 1-7

Which of the following - according to Micalizzi's Suggestions for Things NOT to Say After Medical Complications - should not be said to the patient or family following an adverse event?

"These things happen, and you may never know what went wrong."

Give the 5 steps to solving an ethical problem:

1) Identify and clarify the problem 2) Gather information 3) Evaluate the evidence 4) Consider alternative and implications 5) Choose and implement the best alternative

As a protection in the event of litigation, records should be kept until the applicable statute of limitations period has elapsed. What is the usual timeframe for this period of time?

2 to 7 years

Autonomy is considered one of the seven universal principles of health care ethics. Which of the following is an example of autonomy?

A heath care practitioner makes a competent decision related to patient care.

Which of the following is an example of misfeasance?

A nurse is changing a patient's IV line, but does not wash her hands prior to procedure.

Which of the following examples of negligence would fall under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur?

A patient suffers an infection caused by the use of unsterilized instruments.

A nurse finds out that another nurse is stealing the possessions of residents of a long-term nursing facility, but does not say anything to anyone about the crimes. What is the term for the nurse who does not act on knowledge of these crimes?

Accessory

A hospital administrator makes decisions to shut down a wing due to budget cuts even though some will lose their job. The decision is based on results that will produce the greatest balance of good over evil, everyone considered. What type of framework is the administrator employing to make this value decision?

Act-utilitarianism

Patients have the right to terminate a physician's services if they wish. Terminating a physician's services extends to the right of hospitalized patients to leave before their physicians have discharged them, or to leave _______.

Against medical advice

For which of the following employees would an employer be responsible under the doctrine of respondeat superior?

An employee who accidentally prescribed the wrong medication for a patient

In a hospital setting a certain standard of care is expected of health care practitioners. Which of the following best describes this concept?

An excepted level of performance

Just over 41 percent of the respondents in the Vincent study said that certain actions after their injuries might have prevented litigation. Which of the following is the highest rated action that might prevent litigation?

An explanation and apology

Which of the following are recommended guidelines for a health care practitioner who is summoned to appear in court?

Answer the questions asked, no more and no less.

In which of the following types of defenses to professional liability suits is informed consent one of the most important elements?

Assumption of risk

A health care professional restrains a patient against his will and administers an injection to calm him. This professional may be found guilty of which of the following torts in a court of law?

Battery

A discipline related to ethics concerning biological research as applied in medicine is ________?

Bioethics

A nursing assistant overheard a physician talking about a patient's narcotic addiction with an unauthorized individual. This physician has committed a __________of confidence.

Breach

Civil law includes a general category of law known as torts. Which of the following is not an example of a tort?

Breach of contract

A judge decides a malpractice case in favor of the plaintiff. This judgment then becomes a legal precedent. What type of law is established through this type of legal precedent?

Case Law

For legal purposes, the health care professional should know that if it isn't in writing and explained completely and accurately, it wasn't done. To which of the following "4 Cs of medical malpractice prevention" does this statement refer?

Charting

The five Cs that describe the necessary attributes of entries to patients' medical records are: concise, complete, clear, correct, and _______.

Chronological Order

. The laws that are most likely to pertain to health care practitioners are criminal and ____laws.

Civil

Following an extended hospitalization, a patient with HIV/AIDS sues a doctor for HIPAA violations leading to defamation of character. This is an example of what type of law?

Civil

Therapeutic communication is key to avoiding medical malpractice lawsuits. Which of the following is a recommended guideline when communicating with patients?

Communicate clearly and ask for confirmation that you have been understood.

A nurse is carefully explaining a procedure to a patient. She asks for confirmation from the patient that her explanation has been understood and gives the patient the opportunity to ask questions, which she carefully and competently answers. One of the 4 Cs of medical malpractice prevention the nurse is practicing is_________________.

Communication

A physician assistant who follows the standards of care and appropriate procedures for medical practitioners in similar practices and in similar communities is practicing one of the "4 Cs of medical malpractice prevention" known as ______.

Competence

The health information portability and accountability act (HIPAA) mandates privacy and ___________ of medical records.

Confidentiality

A patient who files an insurance claim gives consent for patient information to be given to a third party. In this case, a ________________has been signed by the patient allowing the release of information.

Consent form

What step of the critical thinking process does the speech therapist use after she determines that evidence supports the fact that a problem exists in her speech therapy program?

Consider alternative and implications

A physician who is caught illegally prescribing narcotic drugs is found guilty of a felony in court. Which of the following is the usual punishment for a felony?

Death or imprisonment in a state or federal prison for more than one year

A health care practitioner is asked to give testimony in an attorney's conference room in a pretrial proceeding. What is the term for this method of obtaining testimony?

Discovery deposition

If a physician is retiring, moving to another location, leaving the practice of medicine, or otherwise becoming unavailable, patients should be informed, and a copy of a letter of referral, notice of a physician's intended absence from practice, or letter of _____________________ should be placed in the patient's record.

Dismissal

A physician decides that a patient with a mental condition may be harmed by seeing his own medical record. This decision may hold up in court under the doctrine of ________.

Doctrine of professional discretion

A nurse documenting patient care makes an error when recording the vital signs. Which of the following is the correct guideline for correcting errors in a patient's medical record?

Draw a line through the error so that it is still legible and write above or below the line.

A physician who is treating a patient who has pancreatic cancer provides competent care for his patient, thereby preventing a charge of negligence. Which of the following four Ds of negligence refers to this responsibility to properly care for a patient?

Duty

A health care practitioner has established a doctor-patient relationship with a patient who seeks treatment for lung cancer. Since the actions or omissions within the scope of this health care practitioner's job could cause harm to the patient with lung cancer, the patient is owed a _______.

Duty of care

A physician working in an emergency room is obligated to treat all the patients who come through the door. This is an example of which of the following concepts?

Duty of care

A person is injured in a car accident. A nurse is the first person on the scene, and he uses a tourniquet to stop the victim's arterial bleeding in her leg, thus saving her life. The car accident victim later claims permanent damage to her leg and sues the nurse for medical malpractice. This nurse is using the ___________________affirmative defense.

Emergency

A university maintains a bioethics department employing health care professionals. What is the focus of this discipline?

Ethical implications of biological research

A physician is treating a hospitalized, terminally ill child and believes further treatment would be futile and would significantly prolong the child's suffering. To help with their difficult decisions, the child's parents and/or the child's physician may request a consultation with the hospital's ____________?

Ethics committees

Under the provisions of the physician-patient contract, both parties have certain rights and responsibilities. Which of the following is a responsibility of the physician?

Exercise his or her best professional judgment in all cases

A physician debates the issues related to bioethics with other members of an ethics committee. Which of the following would be considered a topic related to bioethics?

Fetal tissue research

One of the earliest medical codes of ethics was written by the Babylonians around 2250 b.c.e. Who was the author of this code of ethics?

Hammurabi

The ___________ is a pledge for physicians developed by the Greek physician, known as the father of medicine, circa 400 b.c.e.

Hippocratic oath

A physician who photographs a patient's image without obtaining proper consent may be vulnerable to the charge of __________ in a court of law

Invasion of privacy

When entering into a contract, certain conditions must pertain to the offer. Which of the following accurately describes one of these conditions?

It must be communicated.

A physician who owns a physician's office is legally responsible for her employees. What is the term for this responsibility?

Liable

When showing people, they care, what would be the best advice for a nurse caring for patients who have complaints about dissatisfaction with their treating physicians?

Listen carefully to the patient's complaints and remarks and see that the comments reach the treating physician.

Instead of going to court, two disputing parties agree to a neutral third party listening to both sides of the argument and helping resolve the dispute. What is the term for this type of dispute resolution?

Mediation

A subpoena duces tecum is ordered during a malpractice trial. What does this subpoena provide as evidence?

Medical Records

The physician draws upon the influence of family, culture, and society to determine a basic for ethical conduct in the workplace. Which of the following has the physician developed?

Moral values

Of all the following torts, which is an unintentional tort?

Negligence

The Good Samaritan Acts were passed to protect physicians from being charged with which of the following torts?

Negligence

A nurse refuses to allow elderly residents of a nursing home visits from family and friends as punishment for filing a petition against her with the administrators of the facility. Of which of the following torts might this nurse be convicted?

Nuisance

As required by the ________________ employees should have access to Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for each hazardous chemical in use in the medical facility.

OSHA

A physician signs up for a liability insurance policy that covers him for any claims arising from an incident that occurred, or is alleged to occur when the policy is in force. This type of insurance is called ______________________insurance.

Occurrence

A medical facility generates hundreds of patient medical records during the course of patient treatment. The medical facility owns the documents, and the _________________ owns the information they contain.

Patient

The art of listening to others and communicating well is a key component of care provided by a health care professional. Which of the following is a term for this type of skill?

People skils

A legal case that serves as a model for future cases is said to have established a _______?

Precedent

Methods used to manage risk are considered a part of which of the following?

Quality assurance

An RN fails to regularly turn and change the position of a diabetic patient who is on bed rest and consequently the patient develops necrotic heels. The nurse is responsible for her actions under the _______standard

Reasonable person

A health care worker is responsible for his or her actions or failure to act. Which of the following best describes this responsibility to prevent negligence from occurring?

Reasonable person standard

A victim in a medical malpractice lawsuit receives compensation for all medical expenses from the defendant. Which of the following would almost always be an absolute defense in this case?

Release of tortfeasor

. Under the doctrine of _______ or "Let the master answer," physicians are liable for the acts of their employees performed "within the course and scope" of employment

Respondeat superior

The physician who owns a physician's office examines the practices and behaviors of his employees to determine and eliminate problems that may lead to a malpractice lawsuit. What is the term for this practice?

Risk management

A nurse manager determines the work shifts for the staff based on predetermined healthcare facility guidelines. This is an example of what type of decision making?

Rule-utilitarianism

A physician volunteering time in a free inner-city health care clinic relies on moral values in her practice. which of the following best describes the role of moral values in society?

Serving as a guide for personal ethical conduct

An orthopedic surgeon operates at the level of performance expected of a health care practitioner carrying out his or her professional duties in this specialty. This level of performance is known as the __________.

Standard of care

The doctrine of informed consent is the legal basis for informed consent. Under which of the following is this doctrine usually outlined?

State medical practice act

A physician being sued for a wrongful death claim states that the period of time established by state law during which a lawsuit may be filed has expired. This physician is using the technical defense known as _______________________________.

Statute of limitations

A radiologist is proficient at reading films and documenting the results. What type of skill is displayed by ability?

Technical skill

A healthcare practitioner explores the possible consequences of a decision regarding patient care to decide if it is right or wrong. This practitioner is following consequences-oriented theory or ___________ theory.

Teleological

A hospital maintains medical records on all patients who are treated. Who owns the information contained in the medical record?

The Patient

A physician has a private practice employing a physician assistant and two nurses. The physician also has hospital privileges at a nearby facility. Who owns the medical records generated by his office?

The Physician

Establishing when the statute of limitations begins varies with state law, but one of the most common dates for marking the beginning of the statutory period is which of the following?

The day the alleged act was committed

Immanuel Kant is considered the father of duty-oriented theory. What principle underlies Kant's theory?

The right action is based on a determined principle regardless of the outcome

When using the utilitarianism method of solving a problem, which of the following do proponents of this method indicate should be the solution of choice?

The solution that provides happiness over pain for those involved

Organizations for the health occupations have a code of ethics for their members. Which of the following is true regarding these codes?

They serve as a moral guideline for members

A health care practitioner completes a course in law and ethics. Which of the following is one of the most important reasons medical professionals should be familiar with this field of study?

To help avoid legal entanglement that may threaten a successful living

Health care professionals follow a formalized code of ethics governing their practice. What is the purpose of these codes?

To increase the competence and standard care within the profession

There are four elements that must be present in a given situation to prove that a health care professional is guilty of negligence. These elements are sometimes called the "_______________________________."

Tort of negligence

The Joint Commission addresses accurately identifying patients and improving communication among caregivers by making sure all accredited health care organizations implement which of the following requirements?

Use a process for taking verbal or telephone orders or critical test results that requires a verification read-back by the person receiving the information.

In which of the following situations may patient confidentiality be waived

When a third party requests a medical examination of a person for employment

Since health care procedures and facilities present numerous opportunities for a breach of confidentiality, health care practitioners must make every effort to safeguard each patient's privacy. Which of the following is a recommended guideline for protecting a patient's privacy?

When on the telephone with a patient, do not use his or her name if others may hear.

In which of the following situations is a physician not expected to obtain consent before proceeding with treatment?

When the physician is acting in an emergency situation

A patient has an implied contract with a physician to receive treatment for breast cancer. When is the patient/physician contract usually terminated?

When the treatment ends and the bill is paid

A physician who owns a physician's office employs a physician's assistant, an RN, and a receptionist. These employees act as ________of the employer.

agent

Many health care professionals are members of professional organizations. Which of the following do professional organizations create to govern their members?

code of ethics

. Law of agency may be expressed or implied. In the medical office, it is most often _______

implied

We live in a society where parents, relatives, and others are inclined to sue health care practitioners, health care facilities, manufacturers of medical equipment and products, and others when medical outcomes are not acceptable. The term for this inclination is

litigious

What is the purpose for formalized code of ethics in the health care profession?

to increase the competence and standard of care within the profession