Ch.05 key terms
tort
a tort occurs when a medical professional acts in a negligent manner and injures someone in their care.
Slander
a spoken defamatory statement
Defamation
statements like falsely accusing someone of a crime
abuse
any action or failure to act which causes unreasonable suffering, misery or harm to the patient.
preexisting condition
A health problem, like asthma, diabetes, or cancer, you had before the date that new health coverage starts.
Negligence
a health care provider failing to follow the recognized standard of care and causing preventable harm to a patient
ethics
the disciplined study of morality in medicine and concerns the obligations of physicians and health care organizations to patients as well as the obligations of patients.
Invasion of privacy
A doctor sharing a patient's medical records with someone who is not authorized to see them
Power of Attorney
designating someone as your spokesperson for your health care decisions
libel
form of defamation conveyed by written text, pictures, signs or other physical forms of communication.
False imprisionment
You intentionally and unlawfully restrained, detained or confined someone, and. 2. Doing so made that person stay or go somewhere against that person's will. You make someone stay or go against his/her will if he/she does not consent to the act.
denial of services
A claim denial is issued when a payer, such as a health insurance company or Medicare, declines a healthcare provider's request to be reimbursed for their services.
Malpractice
any act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient.
Civil law
laws and regulations that govern the interactions between private citizens, or in the case of healthcare, between the practitioner and patient.
assault and battery
Medical battery is similar to battery, but the harm occurs in a medical setting and includes harmful or offensive touching of a patient by a medical professional.
Structured promise
Contracts are structured promises. A patient commits to pay the doctor's reasonable price in exchange for the doctor using her best judgment in treating them.
denied payemt
when a healthcare insurance payer refuses to reimburse a provider for services rendered to a patient according to their benefits.
Living will
A living will is a written, legal document that spells out medical treatments you would and would not want to be used to keep you alive, as well as your preferences for other medical decisions, such as pain management or organ donation.
Criminal Law
If a doctor intentionally gives a patient a lethal dose of a medication and the patient dies, the doctor is liable not only for medical malpractice but can also be charged with murder.
breach of contract
when one or more of the terms of the contract are violated
termination of coverage
the date on which the Coverage of the Life Insured ceases under the Policy for reasons mentioned in the Section on Termination of Coverage in this Policy.
OBRA
Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, has dramatically improved the quality of care in nursing homes over the last twenty years by setting federal standards of how care should be provided to residents