Chapter 4 Medical/Legal and Ethical Issues

Question 1

Abandonment

Answer 1

Leaving a patient after care has been initiated and before the patient has been transferred someone with equal or greater medical training.

Question 2

Advance Directive

Answer 2

A DNR order; instructions written in advance of an event.

Question 3

Assault

Answer 3

Placing a person in fear of bodily harm.

Question 4

Battery

Answer 4

Causing bodily harm to or restraining a person.

Question 5

Confidentiality

Answer 5

The obligation not to reveal information obtained about a patient except to other health care professionals involved in the patient’s care or under subpoena or in a court of law or when the patient has signed a release of confidentiality.

Question 6

Consent

Answer 6

Permission from the patient for care or other action by the EMT.

Question 7

Crime Scene

Answer 7

The location where a crime has been committed or any place that evidence relating to a crime may be found.

Question 8

DNR

Answer 8

A legal document, usually signed by the patient and his physician, which states that the patient has a terminal illness and does not wish to prolong life through resuscitative efforts.

Question 9

Duty to act

Answer 9

An obligation to provide care to a patient.

Question 10

Ethical

Answer 10

Regarding a social system or social or professional expectations for applying principles of right and wrong.

Question 11

Expressed Consent

Answer 11

Consent given by adults who are of legal age and mentally competent to make a rational decision in regard to their medical well-being.

Question 12

Good Samaritan Laws

Answer 12

A series of laws, varying in each state, designed to provide limited legal protection for citizens and some health care personnel when they are administering emergency care.

Question 13

HIPAA

Answer 13

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law protecting the privacy of patient-specific health care information and providing the patient with control over how this information is used and distributed.

Question 14

Implied Consent

Answer 14

The consent it is presumed a patient or patient’s parent or guardian would give if they could , such as for an unconscious patient or a parent who cannot be contacted when care is needed.

Question 15

in loco parentis

Answer 15

In place of a parent, indicating a person who may give consent for care of a child when the parents are not present or able to give consent.

Question 16

Liability

Answer 16

Being held legally responsible.

Question 17

Libel

Answer 17

False injurious information in written form.

Question 18

Moral

Answer 18

Regarding personal standards or principles of right and wrong.

Question 19

Negligence

Answer 19

A finding of failure to act properly in a situation in which there was a duty to act, that needed care as would reasonably be expected of the EMT was not provided, and that harm was caused to the patient as a result.

Question 20

Organ Donor

Answer 20

A person who has completed a legal document that allows for donation of organs and tissues in the event of death.

Question 21

Physician Order for Life-sustaining Treatment (POLST

Answer 21

Physician orders that state not only the patient’s wishes regarding resuscitation attempts but also the patient’s wishes of artificial feeding, antibiotics and other life sustaining care if the person is unable to state his desire later.

Question 22

res ipsa loquitur

Answer 22

A Latin term meaning “the thing speaks for itself”.

Question 23

Safe Haven Law

Answer 23

A law that permits a person to drop off an infant or child at a police, fire or EMS station or to deliver the infant or child to any available public safety personnel. The intent of the law is to protect children who may be other wise abandoned or harmed.

Question 24

Scope of Practice

Answer 24

A set of regulations and ethical considerations that define the scope. or extent and limits, of the EMT’s job.

Question 25

Slander

Answer 25

False injurious information stated verbally.

Question 26

Standard of Care

Answer 26

For an EMT providing care for a specific patient in a specific situation, the care that would be expected to be provided by an EMT with similar training when caring for a patient in a similar situation.

Question 27

Tort

Answer 27

A civil, not criminal, offense; an action or injury caused by negligence from which a lawsuit may arise.

Question 28

Explain the difference between expressed and implied consent

Answer 28

The difference between expressed and implied consent is significant because a patient offering expressed consent is an adult who is mentally competent to make decisions, is informed of the risks associated with the care he is about to receive, and is conveying a conscious decision to receive the care. In implied consent, patients are typically unconscious or incapacitated in some way such that you must assume the would agree to be treated if they were conscious.

Question 29

What are the components required to prove negligence?

Answer 29

A finding of negligence requires that all of the following circumstances be proved:

1) Duty to act- the EMT had a duty to the patient,
2) Committed a breach of duty- the EMT did not provide the standard of care,
3) Proximate causation- the EMT caused harm to the patient

Question 30

What is your first priority at a crime scene: preserving evidence or patient care? Why?

Answer 30

Your first priority is always patient care, but it is still possible to preserve evidence and minimize your impact on the scene during the course of your actions. Work closely with law enforcement.

Question 31

You bring a patient to the hospital and the nurse tells you “ Put the patient on bed 5; I’ll be right there”. The nurse doesn’t come over and you leave. Is this abandonment? Why or why not?

Answer 31

If an EMT has initiated care then leaves a patient without ensuring the patient has been turned over to someone with equal or greater training, it constitutes abandonment. The fact that this patient was left in a hospital bed doesn’t matter; there must still be a transfer of care.

Question 32

You have a patient that weighs 400 LBS. You want other EMTs at your squad to know this so they can be prepared. Can you leave a copy of your run report on the bulletin board at the station to notify the others?

Answer 32

Leaving a copy of the run report on the bulletin board at the station for everyone to review is a violation of the HIPAA law. Any information you obtain about a patient’s history, condition, or treatment is considered confidential information with another caregiver involved with the continuing care of the patient is allowed, but tracking a run report up on a bulletin board for all crews to see is illegal.