Chapter 5 Key Terms
Definition of Criminal Law
A system of law concerned with the punishment of those who commit crimes.
Definition of Civil Law
Is a branch of law that regulates the non-criminal rights, duties of persons
Definition of Torts
A wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to civil legal liability.
Definition of Malpractice
The failure of a professional person to act in accordance with the prevailing professional standards, or failure to foresee consequences that a professional person, having the necessary skills and education, should foresee.
Definition of Negligence
Failure to take proper care in doing something.
Definition of Assault and Battery
The crime of threatening a person together with the act of making physical contact with them.
Definition of Invasion of Privacy
The infringement upon an individual's protected right to privacy through a variety of intrusive or unwanted actions.
Definition of False Imprisonment
The state of being imprisoned without legal authority.
Definition of Abuse
Treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly.
Definition of Defamation
The action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel.
Definition of Slander
The action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.
Definition of Libel
A published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.
Definition of Contract
The costs of employer-furnished first aid and medical facilities, including personnel or retainer fees for nurses and physicians that are not allocated to individual claims.
Definition of Breach of Contract
When one party to the contract doesn't do what they agreed.
Definition of Consent Form
A document with important information about a medical procedure or treatment, a clinical trial, or genetic testing.
Definition of Scope of Practice
The activities that an individual health care practitioner is permitted to perform within a specific profession.
Definition of Ethics
The guiding principles for healthcare professionals, ensuring that they prioritize their patients' well-being, treat patients with dignity and respect, and foster trust and confidence in the healthcare system.
Definition of Power of Attorney
A type of advance directive that gives a person (called a proxy) the authority to make medical decisions for another person if that person is not able to make their own decisions.
Definition of 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.
Definition of Denial of Services
Failure to provide medical treatment: the refusal to provide healthcare to a patient who requires it.
Definition of Denied Payment
Issued when a payer, such as a health insurance company or Medicare, declines a healthcare provider's request to be reimbursed for their services.
Definition of Termination of Coverage
When the consumer has chosen a plan and effectuated coverage by paying the first premium payment and ends the coverage effective after the date the coverage was effectuated.
Definition of Preexisting Condition
An illness or injury you had before your policy began or was renewed.
Definition of Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA)
A piece of legislation that was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1987.