Legal Terms
A statement that one expects to be proven as true
Allegation
AST guiding principle
The Patient First
An act that causes another person to fear that he or she will be touched in an offensive, insulting, or physically injurious manner without consent or authority to do so.
Assault
permission being given for an action to take place
Consent
the system of moral principles and rules that become standards for professional conduct
Ethics
A method of pretrial discovery in which questions are answered under oath
Deposition
Above all, do no harm
primum non nocere
Disparaging remarks made about a patient that result in emotional distress.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Healthcare desired form of consent
Express consent
Written instructions that address the right of an incapacitated patient to self-determination.
Advance Directive
An injury resulting from the activity of health care professionals
Iatrogenic injury
The thing speaks for itself
Res ipsa loquitur
The actual act of harmful or unwarranted contact with a person, including contact without proper consent
Battery
under circumstances that would lead a reasonable health care provider to believe that the patient had given consent although no direct or verbally expressed words of consent had been given
Implied Consent
a mechanism in place for reporting incidents related to an adverse patient occurrence including patient and employee injuries
Incident report or sentinel event
Professional misconduct that results in harm to another
Malpractice
A health care institution may be found negligent for failing to ensure that an acceptable level of patient care was provided
Doctrine of corporate negligence
most common types of patient care errors committed by operating room personnel
Unintentional Tort
agreement or permission accompanied by full notice about what is being consented to
Informed consent
The federal act to establish privacy standards to protect patients’ medical records and other health-related information
(HIPAA) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Either the omission or commission of an act that a reasonable and prudent individual would not do under the same conditions; may be associated with the phrase “departure from the standard of care”
The person who is controlling or directing the employee has greater responsibility than the one who is paying the employee.
Doctrine of borrowed servant
Act that is willful and violates the civil rights of a patient
Intentional
This type of consent when procedures that entails an abnormal risk: surgical procedures, fertility and sterilization procedures, anesthesia, transfusions, chemotherapy, participation in experimental programs, receiving an implant such as a heart valve, plate and screws for fracture repair, or coronary artery stent.
Special Consent
contributes to the protection of the public by assessing educational programs for their quality and effectiveness in educating and training
Accreditation