LEGAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN HEALTH CARE

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LEGAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN HEALTH CARE
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Legal Responsibilities

• Civil Law
• Legal relationships between people and the
  protection of a persons rights
• Torts- wrongful acts that do not involve
  contracts
• Health care mainly affected by civil law
• both contracual and torts

• Criminal Law
• Wrongs against a person, property or society
• Examples of criminal law in health care-
  practicing without license, use of narcotics,
  theft, murder

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Torts

• Malpractice- bad practice
• Negligence- failure to give care that is normally
  expected
• Assault-threat or attempt to injure
• Battery-unlawful touching of another person
  without their consent
• Invasion of Privacy- includes unneccessary
  exposure of an individual or revealing personal
  information

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Torts (cont.)

• False imprisonment-Restraining an individual or
  restricting their freedom.
• Abuse-Any care that results in physical pain or
  mental anguish

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Forms of Abuse

• Physical- hitting, restraining, depriving of food
  water or physical needs
• Verbal- can be spoken or written swearing,
  shouting, ethnic slurs
• Psychological-threatening harm, denying rights,
  intimidating, belittling
• Sexual touching, gestures, or suggestions that
  are unwanted

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Torts (cont.)

• Defammation- false statements which cause a
  person to be ridiculed or ruin their reputation
• 1) Slander-spoken
• 2) Libel-written

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Informed Consent

• Permission granted voluntarily by a person who is
  sound of mind after the procedure and all risks
  involved have been explained in terms the person
  can understand.

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Contracts

• Expressed Contracts
• Stated in distinct and clear language either
  orally or in writing.
• Ex. Surgical permit

• Implied Contracts
• Obligations understood without verbally expressed
  terms
• Ex. Giving medication to a patient

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Legal Disability

• A person who does not have the legal capacity to
  form a contract.
• Minors
• Mentally incompetent individuals
• Someone under the influence of drugs
• Someone who does not understand the language

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• EMPLOYER
• Principle

• EMPLOYEE
• Agent

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Privileged Communications

• All information given to health care personnel by
  a patient
• Must be kept confidential and shared only by
  members of patients health care team
• Must receive written release to give information
  to others (exceptions births and deaths,
  injuries caused by violence, drug abuse,
  communicable diseases and sexually transmitted
  diseases.

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Health Care Records

• An example of privileged communications
• Patient may obtain a copy
• Can be used as legal records
• Errors crossed out with a single line and
  initialed, and dated
• Must be kept for amount of time required by law
  then burned or shredded

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Ethics

• Set of principals relating to what is morally
  right or wrong.
• Provide a standard of conduct or code of
  behavior.
• Issues Euthansia, Stem Cell Research, marijuana
  legalization, animal in research, denying
  treatment on religious grounds etc..

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Confidentiality

• Information about the patient must remain private
  and can be shared only with other members of the
  patients health care team.

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Patients Rights

• Patients Bill of Rights by AHA
• Considerate respectful care
• Obtain complete current info about diagnosis etc
• Receive info to give informed consent
• Have advanced directives- can refuse treatment

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Patients Rights

• Privacy
• Confidentialty
• Reasonable response to a request for services
• Receive info about relationships between doctors
  and medical facilities etc
• Be informed of right to refuse being involved in
  research

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Patients Rights

• Reasonable continuity of care
• Right to review medical records and examine bills
• Be informed of hospital rules, regulations, and
  resources to settle greivances

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Advanced Directives

• Living Wills- Documents that allow individuals
  to state what measures should or should not be
  taken to prolong life when their conditions are
  terminal
• Durable Power of Attorney- Document which allows
  another individual to make their medical
  decisions for them if they become unable to

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Advanced Directives

• Patient Self-Determination Act
• Inform every adult verbally and in writing of
  their right to make decisions about their care
  including right to refuse treatment and right to
  die
• Document advance directiveson patients record

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Professional Standards

• Only perform procedures you have been trained and
  are legally permitted to do.
• Use only approved, correct procedures
• Obtain proper authorization before performing any
  procedure
• Identify patient and receive their consent before
  performing procedure

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Professional Standards

• Observe all Safety Precautions
• Keep all information confidential
• Think before you speak
• Treat all patients equally
• Accept no tips or bribes
• If any mistakes or errors occur report them
  immediately to your supervisor
• Behave professionally in dress, language, manners
  and actions