Ethical and Legal Considerations PDF

## Section VII: Ethical and Legal Considerations ### A. Professional Code of Ethics - Describes standards of integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality and will set forth the expectation of professional member adherence. - Guides professional and personal conduct and assists in decision-makin...

## Section VII: Ethical and Legal Considerations ### A. Professional Code of Ethics - Describes standards of integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality and will set forth the expectation of professional member adherence. - Guides professional and personal conduct and assists in decision-making. Sets forth accountability, responsibility, and trust that professionals owe to the public and the profession. ### B. Elements of the Code of Ethics for Nurses - Articulates nursing values and maintains the integrity of the profession. - Practices with respect and compassion. - Primary commitment to the patient. - Advocates for the patient. - Takes action when questionable or impaired practice occurs. - Is accountable and responsible for his/her own practice. - Owes the same duties to self as to others (i.e., self-respect, professional growth). - Participates in the advancement of the profession. - Collaborates with other health professionals. ### C. Elements of the Code of Medical Ethics - Dedicated to providing competent, compassionate care. - Upholds the standards of professionalism. - Respects the law. - Respects the rights of patients, colleagues, and other health professionals. - Committed to lifelong learning. - Freedom to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to provide medical care (except in emergencies). - Participates in activities that improve public health. - Respects the responsibility to the patient as paramount. - Supports non-discriminatory access to medical care. ### D. Elements of the Code of Respiratory Therapists - Demonstrate behavior that reflects integrity, supports objectivity, and fosters trust in the profession and its professionals. - Promote and practice evidence-based medicine. - Seek continuing education opportunities to improve and maintain their professional competence and document their participation accurately. - Perform only those procedures or functions in which they are individually competent and which are within their scope of accepted and responsible practice. - Respect and protect the legal and personal rights of patients, including the right to privacy, informed consent, and refusal of treatment. - Divulge no protected information regarding any patient or family unless disclosure is required for the responsible performance of duty as authorized by the patient and/or family, or required by law. - Provide care without discrimination on any basis, with respect for the rights and dignity of all individuals. - Promote disease prevention and wellness. - Refuse to participate in illegal or unethical acts. - Refuse to conceal, and will report, the illegal, unethical, fraudulent, or incompetent acts of others. - Follow sound scientific procedures and ethical principles in research. - Comply with state or federal laws which govern and relate to their practice. - Avoid any form of conduct that is fraudulent or creates a conflict of interest, and shall follow the principles of ethical business behavior. - Promote health care delivery through improvement of the access, efficacy, and cost of patient care. - Encourage and promote appropriate stewardship of resources. - Work to achieve and maintain respectful, functional, beneficial relationships and communication with all health professionals. It is the position of the American Association of Respiratory Care that there is no place in a professional practice environment for lateral violence and bullying among respiratory therapists or between healthcare professionals. ### E. Elements of the Code of Ethics of Radiologic Technologists - The radiologic technologist acts in a professional manner, responds to patient needs, and supports colleagues and associates in providing quality patient care. - The radiologic technologist acts to advance the principal objective of the profession to provide services to humanity with full respect for the dignity of mankind. - The radiologic technologist delivers patient care and service unrestricted by the concerns of personal attributes or the nature of the disease or illness, and without discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age, or any other legally protected basis. - The radiologic technologist practices technology founded upon theoretical knowledge and concepts, uses equipment and accessories consistent with the purposes for which they were designed, and employs procedures and techniques appropriately. - The radiologic technologist assesses situations, exercises care, discretion, and judgment; assumes responsibility for professional decisions; and acts in the best interest of the patient. - The radiologic technologist acts as an agent through observation and communication to obtain pertinent information for the physician to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of the patient and recognizes that interpretation and diagnosis are outside the scope of practice for the profession. - The radiologic technologist uses equipment and accessories, employs techniques and procedures, performs services in accordance with an accepted standard of practice, and demonstrates expertise in minimizing radiation exposure to the patient, self, and other members of the healthcare team. - The radiologic technologist practices ethical conduct appropriate to the profession and protects the patient's right to quality radiologic technology care. - The radiologic technologist respects confidences entrusted during professional practice, respects the patient's right to privacy, and reveals confidential information only as required by law or to protect the welfare of the individual or the community. - The radiologic technologist continually strives to improve knowledge and skills by participating in continuing education and professional activities, sharing knowledge with colleagues, and investigating new aspects of professional practice. - The radiologic technologist refrains from the use of illegal drugs and/or any legally controlled substances which result in impairment of professional judgment and/or ability to practice radiologic technology with reasonable skill and safety to patients. ### F. Ethical Principles - Beneficence: The obligation to do no harm. - Justice: Fair and unbiased actions. - Autonomy: The right of a person to make independent decisions. - Veracity: The obligation to tell the truth. ### G. Legal Considerations - **Standard of Care:** The ethical and legal duty to provide the same level of care that another professional in the same discipline would provide given the same circumstances. - **State Practice Acts:** The State scope of practice for any licensure determines the practice activities for the healthcare provider. Activities performed outside the identified scope of practice issued by a professional regulatory board in a state may subject the individual to either a civil or criminal offense. - **Elements of Negligence:** - **Duty of Care:** The duty of a healthcare provider to deliver care according to their individual scope of practice. - **Breach of Duty:** The healthcare provider's failure to provide care that is consistent with the standard of care; examples include acts of commission (i.e., medication error) and acts of omission (e.g., failure to properly monitor the patient). - **Causation (or Proximate Cause):** The injury is the result of the healthcare provider's failure to deliver care consistent with the standard of care. - **Legally Compensable Injury:** A type of permanent or temporary injury for which the law allows compensation to the injured party for example, compensation for pain and suffering, is allowable under some state laws. - **Patient Rights** - Right to participate in healthcare decisions. - Right to education about their treatments and medications. - Right to question. - Right to refuse treatment. - Right to informed consent. - Right to be prepared for, and receive information about, post-hospital care (Discharge Planning). - Right to be free of mental and physical abuse. - Restraints include chemical and physical means of containing patient's movement and behavior. - Right to health information privacy. - Personal health information is individually identifiable health information: demographic data (i.e., name, address, birth date, social security number), information about an individual's physical or mental health condition, care provided to the individual, and payment for care. - The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA, 1996) provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities (i.e., hospitals, clinics) and gives patient's rights relating to that information. - The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, 2009. Governs the electronic distribution and transportation of protected health information.