Legal
Legal responsibilities are those that are authorized or based on law. A law is a rule that must be followed.
Criminal law
focuses on behavior known as crime; deals with the wrong against a person, property, or society; examples include practicing in a health profession without having the required license, illegal possessions of drugs, theft, sexual assault, ect.
Civil Law
focuses on the legal relationships between people and the protection of a person's rights; in health care, civil law usually involves torts and contracts.
Tort
A tort is a wrongful act that does not involve a contract. It is called a civil wrong instead of a crime. A tort occurs when a person is harmed or injured because a health care provider does not meet the established or expected standards of care.
Malpractice
Malpractice can be interpreted as "bad practice" and is commonly called "professional negligence." It can be defined as the failure of a professional to use the degree of skill and learning commonly expected in that individuals profession, resulting in in
Informed Consent
permission granted voluntarily by a person who is of sound mind after the procedure and all risks involved have been explained in terms the person can understand.
Invasion of privacy
There are two kinds of invasion of privacy, physical and informational. Physical invasion of privacy includes unnecessarily exposing an individual, while informational refers to revealing personal information about an individual without that persons conse
False imprisonment
False imprisonment refers to restraining an individual or restricting an individual's freedom without authorization.
Abuse
Abuse includes any care that results in physical harm, pain, or mental anguish. There is physical abuse, Verbal abuse, psychological abuse (threatening harm, denying rights, intimidating, threaten to reveal info about the person), and Sexual abuse (any se
Defamation
Defamation occurs when false statements either cause a person to be ridiculed or damage the person's reputation. Incorrect information given out in error can result in defamation.
Slander
If the false information is spoken it is called slander.
Libel
If the false information is written, it is called libel.
Contract
A contract is an agreement between two or more parties. Most contracts have three parts:
Offer : a health care facility or provider has treatment or services they can offer to a patient; a competent individual offers to be a patient.
Acceptance: A patient
Implied contracts
The obligations that are understood without verbally expressed in terms.
Expressed contracts
Stated in distinct and clear language, either orally or in writing. An example is a surgery permit. All risk associated with treatment must be explained completely to the patient.
Legal disability
A person who has a legal disability does not have the legal capacity to form a contract. Examples of people with legal disabilities are minors, mentally incompetent persons, individuals under the influence of drugs that alter the mental state, and semicon
Agent
A final important consideration in contract law is the role of an agent. When a person works under the direction or control of another person, the employer is called the principal, and the person working under the employer is the agent.
Privileged Communications
Privileged Communications comprise of all information given to health care personnel by a patient; by law, this information must be kept confidential and shared only with other members of the patient's health care team.
Health care records
Also considered privileged communication. Such records contain information about the care provided to the patient. Although the records belong to the health care provider, the patient has a right to obtain a copy of any information in the record. Erasures
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. (HIPAA)
Congress required the (USDHHS) to establish standards to protect health information. The USDHHS published the privacy rule that set standards that provided federal protection for privacy of health information in all states. HIPAA's regulations in the Priv
Ethics
A set of principles relating to what is morally right or wrong.
Confidentiality
Means that information about the patient must remain private and can be shared only with other members of the patients health care team.
Patients' rights
Federal and state legislation requires health care agencies to have written policies concerning patients' rights, or the factors of care that patients can expect to receive.
Patient's Bill of Rights
The American Hospital Association has affirmed a Patient's Bill of Rights that is honored by many health care facilities. It states that a patient has the right to many things regarding care, info, ect. (See book)
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA)
Residents in long-term care facilities are guaranteed certain rights under the OBRA. Every long term care facility must inform residents on their guardians of these rights and a copy must be posted in each facility. (See Book)
Resident's Bill of Rights
OBRA is often called a Resident's Bill of Rights and states the many things that residents have the right to. (See Book)
Advanced directives
Also known as legal directives, are legal documents that allow individuals to state what medical treatment they want or do not want in the event that they become incapacitated and are unable to express their wishes regarding medical care.
Living wills
Documents that allow individuals to state what measures should or should not be taken to prolong life when their conditions are terminal (death is expected). The document must be signed when the individual is competent and witnessed by two adults who cann
Designation Of Health Care Surrogate or also called a Durable Power of Attorney (POA) for Health Care
A document that permits an individual (known as a principal) to appoint another person (known as an agent) to make any decisions regarding health care if the principal should become unable to make decisions.
Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)
A federal law that mandates that all health care facilities receiving any type of federal aid comply with the following requirements. (See Book) The PSDA ensures that patients are informed of their rights and have the opportunity to determine the care the
Neglience
Described as failure to give care that is normally expected of a person in a particular position, resulting in injury to another person.
Assault and battery
Assault includes a threat or attempt to injure, and battery includes the unlawful touching of another person without consent. They are closely related and often used together.