Ethics/Practice of EM/Medical Legal Flashcards
This deck covers the relevant legal and ethical principles and laws relevant to the practice of emergency medicine.
What is the age of consent for sex in Canada?
- <12 yo = Can’t be capable
- 12-13 yo = <2 years older
- 14-15 yo = <5 years older
- 16-17 yo = Anything not exploitive (eg. sex trade)
- >18 yo = Fully capable
We are not obligated to report
What phases of lab processes can result in error?
- Collecting the tubes/sample/tissue
- Analyzing/interpreting the tubes/sampes
- Inputting the results
What is the SDM hierarchy?
- Legal Guardian (parent)
- Appointed Power of Attorney
- Consent and Capacity Board representative
- Spouse/Partner
- Child >16/Parent not estranged
- Parent with right of access
- Sibling
- Another relative
- Public Guardian and Trustee
Define an adverse event. Define intrinsic and extrinsic sources of error. Provide 3 examples of each.
Adverse Event
- Injury that was caused by medical management, both preventable and non-preventable
Intrinsic Source of Error
- Part of the nature of emergency care/can’t change it
- Examples
1. Decision burden
2. Patient factors (delirium, language, acuity)
3. Uncertainty
4. “Low signal to noise” eg. a 2/10 SAH headache
Extrinsic Source of Error
- Resource constraints
- Preventable
- Examples
1. ED design
2. Crowding
3. Fatigue
4. Teamwork
5. Information gap
Violation Producing Factors
- Make someone more willing to break protocol
- Violations undermine safety
- Opposite to workarounds which increase safety
- Gender
- Maladaptive behaviour
- Over/underconfidence
- Authority gradient
What 4 humanitarian principles do responders adhere by?
- Humanity - you’re there to address suffering
- Neutrality - never take a side
- Impartiality - aid is base on need alone
- Independence - autonomous from influence
What is the formula to calculate the G -Force of an accident?
g = Delta(v2) / (Stopping distance * K)
It means that the G force is inversely related to the stopping distance
Outline the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are entitled to life, liberty, security of person, and “a standard of living adequate for… health and well-being
Draw a Haddon Matrix using an MVC as an example. What are 3 tenants the matrix relies on?
Approach to injury prevention that demonstrates interaction
Column Headings
- Host
- Agent/Vector
- Environment
Row Headings
- Before event
- During event
- After event
Tenants
- Injuries are preventable
- Injuries follow patterns
- Can’t rely on human factors alone
What are the 6 domains for quality in healthcare?
Safe
- Avoiding harm from care that is meant to help patients
Effective
- Care based on scientific knowledge
Patient-centered
- Care that is responsive to and respectful of individual patient preferences, needs, and values
Timely
- Reducing waits for those who receive and give care
Efficient
- Avoiding waste of equipment, supplies, ideas, and energy
Equitable
- Care not different due to personal characteristics
In ethical dilemmas what is meant by the impartiality test, the universality test, and the interpersonal justifiability test?
Impartiality
- Would you the doctor accept this action done to you?
Universality
- Would you the doctor feel comfortable with another doctor doing this if they were seeing a similar patient?
Interpersonal Justifiable
- Would it be accepted by your peers?
What are the 5 elements of informed consent?
- Capable patient
- Voluntary
- Informed about risks/benefits
- Specific to situation and treatments
- No misrepresentation
Define:
- Autonomy
- Beneficence
- Non-maleficence
- Distributive Justice
Autonomy
- Patients can make their own decisions about themselves
Beneficence
- Do good
Non-maleficence
- Don’t do evil
Distributive Justice
- Resources are allocated to all
What are the top 5 causes of death in Canada?
- Cancer
- Heart Disease
- CVA
- Injuries
- Chronic lower respiratory disease
What are the guidelines for child seats?
- <9 kg (usually <1 year old)
- 9-18 kg (<6 years old)
- 18-36 kg (<8 years old)
Errbuddddy get in the back until 13 yo
- <9 kg (usually <1 year old)
- Rear-facing seat
- 9-18 kg (<6 years old)
- Forward-facing seat
- 18-36 kg (<8 years old)
- Booster seat
How do you help a colleague you think is struggling with drugs/addiction and you’re even concerned about their patients?
- OMA/CMA
- CPSO
- Talk to them privately
- Speak with site chief
What are 7 steps to disclosing adverse events as per CMPA?
- First attend to their safety/care
- Plan this disclosure
- Invite
- Actually do it
* Sympathize, outline the investigative process - QI review
- Conduct the post-analysis disclosure
* What was learned, what’s changed, you’re sorry - Document
What were the significant results of the landmark Harvard
Medical Practice Study (NEJM 1991)?
1991 Harvard Medical Practice Study
- 4% of hospitalized pts had significant adverse events
- 30% of adverse events from “human error”
- Only 3% of adverse events occurred in the ED
- 90% of ED adverse events were “preventable”
2000 Institute of Medicine Report
Failures or “errors” were the result of intrinsic properties of
the processes of care in which health care professionals work
Efforts to reduce failures should focus on changing the
processes of care, rather than identifying, retraining, and
punishing the workers