Abuse
Abuse: Includes any care that results in physical harm, pain, or mental anguish. Examples are:
Physical Abuse:hitting, forcing people against their will, restraining movement, depriving peole of food or water, and/or not providing physical care.
Verbal Ab
Advance Directives
Advance Directives: Also known as Leagal 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 c
Agent
Agent: Someone who has the power or authority to act as the representitive of another.
Assult and Battery
Assult and Battery: Assult 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, Examples of assult and battery include preforming a procedure
Civil Law
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.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality: Means that information about the patient must remain private and can be shared only with other members of the patient's health care term.
Contract
Contract:an agreement between two or more parties. Most contracts have three parts:
Offer: A competent individual enters into a relationship with a health care provider and offers to be a patient
Acceotance: The health care provider gives an appointment o
Criminal Law
Criminal Law: focuses on behavior known as crime; deals with the wrongs against a person, property, or society; examples incude practicing in a health profession without having the required license, illegal possession of drugs, misuse of narcotics, theft,
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 daefamation. If the information is spoken, it is slander; if it is written, it is libe
Designation of Health Care Surrogate
Designation of Health Care Surrogate: Also called a Durable Power of Attorney for health care, is a document that permits an individual (known as a pioncipal) to appoint another person (known as an agent) to make any decisions reguarding health care if th
Durable Power of Attorney (POA)
Durable Power of Attorney (POA): See above Designation of Health Care Surrogate.
Ethics
Ethics: A set of principles relating to what is morally right or wrong. Ethics provide a standard of conduct or code of behavior.
Expressed Contracts
Expressed Contracts: are stated in distinct and clear language, either orally or in writing. An example is a sergery permit. Promises of care must be kept. Therefore, all risks associated with treatment must be explained completely to the patient.
False Imprisionment
False Imprisionment: Refers to restraining an individual or restricting an individual's freedom. Examples include keeping patients hospitalized against their will, or applying physical restraints without proer authorization or with no justification.
Health Care Records
Health Care Records: Also considered privilefed communications. Such records contain information about the care provided to the patient. Although such records belong to the health care provider, the patient has a right to obtain a copty of any information
Implied Contracts
Implied Contracts: Those obligations that are understood without verbally expressed terms. For example, when a qualified health worker prepares a medication and a patient takes the medication.
Informed Consent
Informed Consent: permission cranted 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. It is imprtant to remember that a person has the right to withdraw consent
Invasion of Privacy
Invasion of Privacy: Includes unnessarily exposing an individual or recealing personal information about an indifidual without that person's consent. Examples indlude improerly draping or covering a patient during a procedure so that other patients or per
Legal
Legal:Authorized or based on Law
Legal Disability
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 (Individuals under legal age), mentally incompetent persons, infividuals under the influence o
Libel
Libel: Written demation
Living Wills
Living Wills: are documents that allow individuals to state what measures should or should not be taken to prolong life when their conditions are terminal. The document must be signed when the individual is competent and witnessed by two adults who cannot
Malpractice
Malpractice: Can be interpreted as "bad practice" and is commonly called "professional negligence". It can be defined as the failure of a prodessional to use the degree of skil and learning commonly expected in that indifidual's profession, resulting in i
Negligence
Negligence: Can be described as failure to give care that is normally expected of a person in a particular position, resulting in injury to another person. Examples include falls and injuries that occur when siderails are left down, using or not reporting
Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)
Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA): Mandates that all health care facilities receiving any type of federal aid comply with the following requirements:
Inform every adult, both orally and in writing, of their right under state law to make decisions conc
Patient's Bill of Rights
Patient's Bill of Rights: Patients have the right to:
Considerate and respectful care
Obtain comlete, current information concerning diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis
Receive information necessary to give informed consent prior to the start of any proce
Patients' Rights
Patiens' Rights: the factors of care that patients can expect to receive. Agencies expect all personnel to respect and honor these rights.
Privileged Communications
Privileged Communications:Another imprtant aspect of legal responsibilioty privileged communications comprise all information given to health care personnel by a patient;by law, this information must be kept confidential and shared only with other members
Resident's Bill of Rights
Resident's Bill of Rights: long-term care rights and a copy must be posted in each facility.
Free choice regarding physician, treatment, care and participation in research
Freedom from abuse and chemical or physical restraints
Privacy and confidentiality
Slander
Slander: Spoken Defamation.
Tort
Tort: 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. Many differe