Legal Responsibilities
Legal responsibilities are those that are authorized or based on ______.
An agreement between two or more parties.
Contract.
All personal information given to health personnel by a patient.
Privileged Communication.
One type of Advanced Directive
A living will or Durable Power of Attorney
Treat all patients _______ regardless of race, religion, social or economic status, gender, age, or nationality.
equally
The usual penalty for criminal crimes.
Spoken defamation.
Slander.
What rights do patients have in regard to their health care records?
The right to obtain a copy of any information in the record.
This frequently results in a DNR order for terminally ill patients.
One way to identify a patient.
check name band, state patient’s name clearly, repeat name, use scanner on bar code ID band, check photo ID if worn
Criminal law focuses on the wrongs against a person, property, or society.
Civil law focuses on the legal relationships between people and the protection of a person's rights.
One example of psychological abuse
Threatening harm, denying rights, intimidating or ridiculing
How an error should be corrected on a written health care record.
crossed out with a single line so material is still readable; correct information inserted, initialed, and dated
This means that cardiopulmonary resuscitation is not performed when the person stops breathing
A DNR order
Define patients' rights.
Factors of care that patients can expect to receive
A hospital refuses to release a patient’s medical record to them, even after the patient submits a written request. Is this a criminal or civil issue?
Civil. Under laws like HIPAA, patients have the legal right to access their medical records. Refusing to release the records after a written request violates federal law.
Keeping a patient hospitalized against their will, applying physical restraints without proper authorization or justification
False Imprisonment.
Two safeguards used to maintain computer confidentiality.
Limit personnel with access, use iris scans or fingerprints to access records, use codes, require passwords, monitor and evaluate computer use
To meet legal requirements, the POA must be signed by whom?
The principal, agent, and one or two adult witnesses.
This type of insurance constitutes an additional form of protection in case of legal action
Liability
A nurse notices that a fellow nurse has been documenting medications as given, but hasn’t actually administered them. Is this an ethical or legal issue?
This is both an ethical and legal issue. Neglecting patient care violates professional ethics and the duty to do no harm. It is illegal to falsify medical records and to withhold prescribed medication, which can result in criminal charges and loss of licensure.
A health care provider performs a procedure on a patient after the patient has refused to give permission.
Battery.
Three examples of information that is exempt by law and must be reported in accordance with facility policies.
Birth and death information; injuries caused by violence; drug abuse; communicable diseases; sexually transmitted diseases
This requires all health care facilities receiving any type of federal aid to provide patients with information and assistance in preparing advance directives
Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1987