Law & Ethics Chapter 6

Dereliction of duty

1 of 4 D's of negligence; Failure to act as a peer would in similar circumstances, breach of duty; don't meet standard of care

Damages

1 of 4 D's of negligence; Injuries that are caused for which compensation is due; may be compensatory damages (pmt for actual loss of income, emotional pain, suffering) or punitive damages (monetary award for person harmed in malicious way) or nominal damages (slight or token pmt to demo that even tho no physical harm done, legal rts were violated)

Duty

1 of 4 D's of negligence; Responsibility established by the physician-patient relationship; obligation

Direct cause

1 of 4 D's of negligence; dereliction of duty definitely resulted in patient's injury; requires preponderance of evidence; res ipsa loquitur: the thing speaks for itself, no further explanation required (ex. leaving sponge in pt during surgery, working on wrong body part); could also be proximate cause (ex. didn't use brace during tx when should have then pt doesn't use brace to go to bathroom when should have b/c wasn't used during tx with PT/PTA

Fraud

Deliberate concealment of facts from another person for unlawful or unfair gain (intentional)

4 D's of Negligence

Duty Dereliction of duty Direct cause (or proximate cause) Damages

Malpractice Prevention

Follow general guidelines for profession (scope of practice, standard of care, standard of conduct), follow state practice act for profession, practice safety first, clear lines of communication btw members of healthcare team, proper/defensible documentation (if you didn't write it down, you didn't do it and can't bill for it)

Intentional misconduct

behavior that is deliberate and harmful to others; incl fraud & sexual misconduct

Professional Liability insurance

insurance for compensation or reimbursement if a loss occurs from a specific cause or negligent act on part of healthcare professional

Claims-made insurance

type of professional liability insurance; protects from an incident that occurred only when both the incident & claim occurred while the policy was in effect

occurrence insurance

type of professional liability insurance; protects from an incident that occurred while the policy was in effect regardless of when a claim is filled; preferred type of coverage b/c will still be covered if claim filed after leave previous job/facility/ins. policy

Malfeasance

type of tort/negligence; a wrong and illegal act; outside of scope of practice (ex. PT/PTA suggesting/telling a pt take OTC pain reliever)

Nonfeasance

type of tort/negligence; failure to perform a necessary action (ex. PT/PTA w/ CPR cert doesn't administer CPR to pt that doesn't have a DNR order)

Misfeasance

type of tort/negligence; improper performance of an otherwise proper of lawful act; within scope of practice but not to standard of care (ex. knowingly administering e-stim to the abdomen of a pregnant female pt)

Negligence

unintentional action; failing to do what another competent practitioner would have done under similar circumstances (ex. didn't put brace on at all when should have), failing to perform professional duties to accepted standard of care (ex. put brace on incorrectly)

Malpractice

Professional misconduct or demonstration of an unreasonable lack of skill with the result of injury, loss, or damage to the patient

Law of agency

Relationship formed when one person agrees to perform work for another person

Respondeat superior

Healthcare professional should have written job description, use extreme care when performing job, carry out only the procedures for which trained (scope of practice), be honest about errors or inability to perform