Patient Autonomy and Consent
This is the legal and ethical term for a patient’s right to make decisions about their own medical care after being fully informed of the risks and benefits.
Informed consent
To protect patient privacy during clinical discussions, healthcare providers must strictly avoid using these identifier-heavy spaces, such as hospital elevators or cafeterias.
Public areas (e.g., elevators, cafeterias)
This 5-letter acronym represents the federal law enacted in 1996 that protects sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without consent.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
This phrase describes the ethical mandate to "do no harm" to a patient.
Non-maleficence
To maintain professionalism online, a physician should never post this type of patient data, even if the patient's name is omitted.
Protected Health Information (PHI) or identifiable clinical details
This specific legal document allows a patient to appoint a surrogate decision-maker in the event they become incapacitated.
Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare (or Healthcare Proxy)
Accepting expensive gifts from a patient violates professional boundaries primarily because it can create this type of compromised dynamic.
A conflict of interest (or compromised/altered professional relationship)
When a colleague arrives at work exhibiting signs of alcohol intoxication, a professional’s primary and immediate duty is to report them to protect this.
Patient safety
Financial relationships with these companies must be transparently disclosed to prevent biased prescribing habits or research outcomes.
Pharmaceutical or medical device companies
Medical professionals are strongly advised to keep these two types of digital personas completely separate to avoid boundary blurring.
Personal and professional social media accounts
When an adult patient refuses a life-saving blood transfusion due to religious beliefs, a professional physician must respect this choice based on this foundational bioethical principle.
Autonomy
This psychological phenomenon occurs when a physician unconsciously redirects their own feelings or past experiences onto a patient.
Countertransference
This communication framework, widely used during patient handoffs, stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation.
SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation)
This federal act requires manufacturers of drugs and medical devices to publicly disclose payments and gifts made to physicians and teaching hospitals.
The Physician Sunshine Act (Open Payments program)
If a patient sends a friend request to a physician’s personal Facebook account, the professional response is to do this.
Decline the request and direct them to official communication channels
In an emergency situation where a patient is unconscious and no family is available, a physician can treat them without explicit consent under this legal doctrine
Implied consent
If a physician wishes to end a professional relationship with a difficult patient, they must provide formal notice and transitional care to avoid this legal charge.
Patient abandonment
This term describes the unfair allocation of blame to individuals for systemic errors, which a professional "Just Culture" seeks to eliminate.
Scapegoating (or a culture of blame)
When medical resources (like ventilators or organs) are scarce, professionals must use this specific ethical principle to ensure fair distribution.
Distributive justice
When responding to a negative, defamatory online review from a patient, a physician must remain professional and avoid confirming this fact online.
Confirming that the reviewer is actually a patient
This term describes a minor who is legally deemed mature enough to make their own medical decisions without parental consent or notification.
Emancipated minor
When a patient makes romantic advances toward a physician, the professional response requires the physician to do this immediately regarding the relationship status
Terminating the professional relationship and referring the patient to another provider
Under the AMA Code of Medical Ethics, if a physician witnesses a superior committing a clear medical error, their highest ethical obligation is to this entity, overriding hospital hierarchy.
The patient
This term refers to the practice of a physician referring patients to a medical facility in which the physician has a financial interest, a practice generally banned by the Stark Law.
Self-referral
This term refers to the permanent, searchable record of a professional’s online activities, which can impact their career long after a post is deleted.
Digital footprint