Legal Practices in Medicine

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Legal Practices in Medicine
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Legal and Ethical Practices

• Law a rule that must be followed
• Laws are created and enforced by the federal,
  state, or local government

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Public Law is Criminal Law!

• Criminal Law - deals with offences
  against all citizens.
• Offender can go to prison or jail.
• Examples of Criminal Law
• Practicing in a health care profession without
• a license.
• Misuse of narcotics.
• Theft.
• Murder

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Felony (Serious criminal law)

• Carries a penalty of imprisonment for more than
  one year and possibly the death penalty
• Ex Withholding rx for a terminally ill patient,
  and the patient dies prematurely

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Private Law is Civil Law!(This primarily affects
health care)

• Civil Law - deals with legal relationships
  between people and the protection of a persons
  rights
• Two Main Types of Civil Law
• Torts
• Contracts

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Torts

• Tort - from the French word wrong.
• It can be defined as a
• civil wrong committed
• against a person or
• property excluding
• breach of contract.

• Torts may be
• 1) Intentional (Willful)
• 2) Unintentional
• (Accident)

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Intentional Torts

• Assault - any willful
• attempt or threat to
• injure another person with
• the apparent ability to do
• so.
• Battery - unlawful
• touching of another person
• without consent.

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Informed Consent

• The patient / client understands the reason for
  treatment.
• They understand
• 1. What will be done.
• 2. Who will do it.
• 3. How it will be done.
• 4. Expected outcomes.
• 5. Patient must also understand
• treatment alternatives and the
• consequences of not having
• treatment.

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Dr. Williams is charged with assault and
battery. What situation might have caused this
charge?

1. A patients bandage will not stay on
2. The patient leaves the hospital without being
   discharged
3. Dr. Williams operates on a patient without
   consent
4. Dr. Williams accidentally removes the wrong body
   part.

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Dr. Williams is charged with assault and
battery. What situation might have caused this
charge?

1. A patients bandage will not stay on
2. The patient leaves the hospital without being
   discharged
3. Dr. Williams operates on a patient without
   consent
4. Dr. Williams accidentally removes the wrong body
   part.

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Intentional Torts

• Defamation of Character - damaging a persons
  name and reputation by making
• public statements that are false and
  malicious
• There are 2 types
• Libel - if the information
• released is written.
• Slander - if the information
• released is spoken.

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Intentional Torts

• False Imprisonment
• Restraining an individual or
• restricting an individuals
• freedom.
• Could be holding someone
• in a facility against their will
• or physically restraining
• them.
• Sometimes treated as a crime.

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Intentional Torts

• Invasion of Privacy
• The giving out of information about an
  individual or patient without his/her consent.

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Two health care workers were overheard discussing
a co-worker who was admitted to the hospital
drunk and violent. What legal standard was
violated by the two workers

• Libel
• Malpractice
• C.Assault and battery
• D. Invasion of privacy

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Two health care workers were overheard discussing
a co-worker who was admitted to the hospital
drunk and violent. What legal standard was
violated by the two workers

• Libel
• Malpractice
• C.Assault and battery
• D. Invasion of privacy

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Kennedi charges a hospital with false
imprisonment. What might have happened?

1. A doctor would not write an order for Mrs. Daniel
   to be discharged
2. A nurse applied physical restraints on Mrs.
   Daniel without justification
3. A nursing assistant put up the bedside rails
   while Mrs. Daniel was sleeping
4. A ward secretary sent Mrs. Daiels chart to her
   insurance company without her permission

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Kennedi charges a hospital with false
imprisonment. What might have happened?

1. A doctor would not write an order for Mrs. Daniel
   to be discharged
2. A nurse applied physical restraints on Mrs.
   Daniel without justification
3. A nursing assistant put up the bedside rails
   while Mrs. Daniel was sleeping
4. A ward secretary sent Mrs. Daiels chart to her
   insurance company without her permission

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An RN who has been fired from a medical practice
has been making negative, untrue statements about
her boss. What could he/she be charged with?

1. Immorality
2. Defamation
3. Invasion of Privacy
4. Negligence

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An RN who has been fired from a medical practice
has been making negative, untrue statements about
her boss. What could he/she be charged with?

1. Immorality
2. Defamation
3. Invasion of Privacy
4. Negligence

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A health assistant wished to watch an operation
on a patient, even though she is not directly
involved in the patients care. Whose permission
is needed?

1. No one
2. Doctor
3. Patient
4. Both the doctor and the patient

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A health assistant wished to watch an operation
on a patient, even though she is not directly
involved in the patients care. Whose permission
is needed?

1. No one
2. Doctor
3. Patient
4. Both the doctor and the patient

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Intentional Torts

• Abuse
• Any care that results in
• physical harm, pain, or
• medical anguish.
• Abuse can be classified as
• Physical - hitting, forcing
• persons against their will,
• restraining movements,
• depriving of food or H2O, or
• not providing physical care.

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Intentional Torts

• Abuse (continued)
• Verbal Abuse
• talking harshly, swearing
• or shouting, teasing,
• ridiculing, intimidating a
• person.

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Intentional Torts

• Abuse (continued)
• Sexual Abuse any
• unwanted sexual
• touching or act.

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Intentional Torts

• Laws in all states require reporting of any
  form of abuse
• to proper authorities.

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Unintentional Torts

• Negligence - Person at
• fault failed to do what a
• reasonable and careful person
• would have done, or did what a
• reasonable and careful person
• would not have done.
• Also can be defined as
• failure to take reasonable
• precautions to protect others
• from the risk of harm.

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Unintentional Torts

• Malpractice -
• Interpreted as bad
• practice and includes
• providing improper or
• unprofessional treatment
• or care that results
• in injury to the patient.

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If a nursing assistant uses water that is too hot
when bathing a patient and the patient is burned,
what type of standard has been violated?

1. Legal
2. Cognitive
3. Ethical
4. Personal

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If a nursing assistant uses water that is too hot
when bathing a patient and the patient is burned,
what type of standard has been violated?

1. Legal
2. Cognitive
3. Ethical
4. Personal

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Which situation is malpractice if the patient is
injured as a result of a health care workers
actions?

1. A health care worker fails to wipe up some water
   that he/she spilled on the floor.
2. A health care worker forgets to put up the
   patients bedside rail.
3. A health care worker performs a special procedure
   on a patient that he/she is not instructed to
   perform.
4. A heating pad with a defective cord is used on a
   patient even though the health care worker knows
   it is defective.

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Which situation is malpractice if the patient is
injured as a result of a health care workers
actions?

1. A health care worker fails to wipe up some water
   that he/she spilled on the floor.
2. A health care worker forgets to put up the
   patients bedside rail.
3. A health care worker performs a special procedure
   on a patient that he/she is not instructed to
   perform.
4. A heating pad with a defective cord is used on a
   patient even though the health care worker knows
   it is defective.

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Health Care Records

• Contains information on the
• care that has been provided to the
• patient.
• Medical records belongs to the health care
  provider but the patient has the right to obtain
• a copy.
• The medical record is a legal document andmay be
  subpoenaed as evidence in court.

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Health Care Records

• Records must be kept
• until the statues of
• limitations has passed
• (2-7 years.)
• When records are
• destroyed, they should be
• shredded or burned.

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Jada is moving to Cleveland and needs to take her
medical records. She is awae that patients
medical record are the property of the

1. State
2. Patient and his or her family
3. Owners of the facility where they were created
4. Owners of the facility or practice type

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Jada is moving to Cleveland and needs to take her
medical records. She is awae that patients
medical record are the property of the

1. State
2. Patient and his or her family
3. Owners of the facility where they were created
4. Owners of the facility or practice type

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The End