Group 1 Laws: Good Samaritan Law, COBRA (PDF)

Group 1: Laws: Good Samaritan Law, COBRA Term: Assault, Battery Good Samaritan Law: Ethical and legal responsibility to render aid to someone in need. It is a state law. (ex. Someone getting hit by a car, or having a seizure) COBRA: (Consolidated. Omnibus. Budget. Reconciliation. Act) - Allows em...

Group 1: Laws: Good Samaritan Law, COBRA Term: Assault, Battery Good Samaritan Law: Ethical and legal responsibility to render aid to someone in need. It is a state law. (ex. Someone getting hit by a car, or having a seizure) COBRA: (Consolidated. Omnibus. Budget. Reconciliation. Act) - Allows employees & families to continue employer provided health insurance for 18 months after qualifying life events ​ Job loss, whether voluntary or involuntary ​ Reduction in hours worked ​ Transition between jobs ​ Death ​ Divorce Assault: Is the act of threatening a patient with physical harm. Ex: “If you get out of that bed again, I will tie you down!” Battery: the act of physically striking, attacking, or restraining someone against their will; if you are not protected by a physician’s order you can and will be charged with this (ex. Pushing an elderly dementia patient down to keep them from getting up out of bed) Group 2: Laws: EMTALA-Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act is a federal law that requires hospitals to provide emergency care to anyone that needs it, regardless of their ability to pay. Once the patient is stable, then you can send them to a hospital that can continue their treatment. (COBRA): Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act is a federal law that allows you to keep your employer's group health insurance after you leave employment. If you decide to accept it, you are responsible for paying the entire premium and it lasts for up to 18 months. HIPAA: Health insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The primary goal of the law is to make it easier for people to keep health insurance, protect the confidentiality and security of healthcare information and help the healthcare industry control administrative costs Term: False Imprisonment - when a patient is restrained without a legal reason. ​ It happens when a nurse restrains a patient in a confined area, preventing the ability to move freely in a bed, chair, room, or other area in which the patient wishes to be. ex. raising 4 rails instead of 3 Group 3: Laws: ADA, Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act ADA- ( Americans Disabilities Act) Prohibits businesses from discriminating against those that have physical or mental impairments and are therefore deemed disabled. The businesses must also accommodate appropriately for these individuals. Nurses are not covered under this act. Mental Health Parity- federal law  Health insurance companies must include mental health in their policies including substance use disorders. Coverage must be equal to the coverage provided for other medical conditions. Addiction Equity Act- A healthcare act that prohibits insurance companies from providing less than favorable coverage for mental health and substance use disorders than they do for medical and surgical conditions. Group 4: Terms: Libel- Libel is a written false statement that harms a person’s reputation. Example: A nurse falsely documents that a colleague was intoxicated at work in a report. Slander- A false statement made verbally that damages someone's reputation. Slander is considered temporary because it's not written down. 2 Malpractice- a dereliction of professional duty or a failure to exercise an ordinary degree of professional skill ​that results in injury, loss, or damage. Can be physical, emotional, or spiritual. Negligence - Performing an act that a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances would not do, or failing to perform an act that a reasonably prudent person would do. All malpractice is negligence but not all negligence is malpractice. Group 5:  Laws: Patient’s Self-Determination Act: Patients have the right to be involved in making decisions regarding the medical care they receive. Nurses promote autonomy when they include patients in the process of developing care plans with realistic goals and interventions. Nurses also support autonomy when they support patients in their treatment options along with a patient refusing treatment. i.​ this is why advanced directives exist ​ Examples of PSDA: ​ A hospital provides a patient with a living will form and explains their rights to use it. ​ A nursing home asks a patient if they have a durable power of attorney for healthcare and documents their answer. ​ A doctor honors a patient's living will by withholding life-sustaining treatment as requested. ​ A healthcare facility provides resources and support to a family who is making decisions about their loved one's end-of-life care. Term: Misdemeanor: is a less serious crime, commonly punishable with a fine, imprisonment for less than 1 year, or both, or with parole. Ex: Battery, stealing, gross negligence (Example of gross negligence : performing care while under the influence ) Felony- Crimes that are punishable by imprisonment in a state or federal penitentiary for more than 1 year. (e.g. rape, murder). Crimes committed against patients in a hospital are often considered more serious due to their reliance on medical professionals and weakened state. (Patient abuse, intentionally falsifying records). Group 6: Terms: Statutory Law- :Statute law is a written form of public law or private law that is passed by a legislative body. It can be said that every statute is a law, but not every law is a statute. (Example: HIPAA, OSHA, ADA, EMTALA, Mental Health Parity, FL State Statute 766.102 Medical negligence; standards of recovery; expert witness) ***Regulatory Law - deals with procedures established by federal, state, and local administrative agencies, as opposed to laws created by the legislature (statutory laws) or by court decisions (case law). Regulations can relate to a large array of executive branch activities, such as applications for licenses, oversight of environmental laws, and administration of social services like welfare, just to name a few. (NCSBN, FDH, write regulations to enforce the statutory laws. Ex: 24 hours of continuing education to recertify license.) Common Law - is the body of law that is primarily based on judicial decisions, or precedents, rather than statues. It is also known as case law, or judge-made law. Judges use common law to decide cases based on the facts and circumstances of the dispute. Common law can be used to describe a relationship between two people who are not officially married but live together for a long time. This is sometimes called a common-law marriage. Group 7: Beneficence: doing good without anything in return. Ex. Opening the door for someone coming after you. Justice: treating everyone the same / Give each their due. (EX: A nurse treating a prisoner should give the same care they would to a family member.) Fidelity: making a promise to someone and keeping that promise; being faithful to another person by living by the words spoken to them. (ex. Telling a pt you’ll be back in two hours to check on them, take vitals, and give them another dose of their prescribed medication and actually returning in two hours to do what you said.) Group 8: Ethical Theories: Deontology-,”Rule follower”; Morality of an action is based on whether it follows absolute moral rules Ex: Deciding to accept being late instead of breaking the speed limit Utilitarianism : Morality of an action is based on its outcome “Ends justify the means” Ex: Deciding to cheat on a test instead of making a bad grade Group 9: Advocacy, Autonomy, Veracity, Civility Advocacy- the act of representing the interests of patients and groups of patients to improve the quality of healthcare. It involves working to ensure that patients receive the care they need, and that their rights are upheld. Autonomy- Being able to Think and make independent decisions. Veracity- Being honest (e.g., truthfully explaining a patient’s diagnosis and treatment options). Civility- Being kind, polite, and respectful to others. Group 10: Nonmaleficence: Doing the greater good. Not causing harm to others. Ex: Mobilizing a patient that just had a knee replacement to reduce their risk of gas buildup or blood clots. Accountability: Taking responsibility for your actions. Ex: administering a wrong medication to a patient, and immediately realizing the mistake and taking accountability for your action. “I am sorry, that was my mistake”. Responsibility: Owning your actions. e.x. Identifying that you decided to return to the pt room after three hours instead of two because the pt was asleep and they had not been resting well lately Confidentiality: Keeping information private that needs to be private. ​ Ex. HIPAA Laws Group 11: Advanced directives: An advance directive is a legal document that outlines a person's wishes regarding their medical care in the event they become unable to make decisions for themselves due to illness, injury, or other incapacities. Examples: Durable power of attorney- A person legally appointed by the patient to make legal or financial decisions on their behalf when they become incapacitated. A person can grant someone as their durable power of attorney through their living will, and last until you revoke it or you pass. Living Will- is a written, legal document that states out medical treatment you would and would not want to be used to keep you alive. (ex. not wanting CPR to be done) Health Care Proxy- A legal document that allows the patient to designate someone (agent) to make medical decisions for you if you cannot communicate. A HCP is responsible for carrying out your wishes. They have the legal authority to speak to the doctor and make medical decisions about your care. HCP can only make decisions regarding your healthcare and can only do so if you are medically incapacitated. Authority is only limited by the instructions that you leave in your health care proxy form or living will. E.g. you get in a car crash and knocked unconscious. Hospital will look to HCP that it names to make decisions on your behalf until you woke up. Group 12: Informed consent, Against Medical Advice, -​ Informed consent- is a principle in medical ethics and law that requires individuals to have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about accepting risks, such as medical treatments. It involves agreeing to allow something to happen with full knowledge of the relevant facts, including risks and alternatives. In healthcare, informed consent protects patient autonomy and legal rights, ensuring that patients understand their diagnosis and treatment options before agreeing to them. ONLY WITNESSING PATIENT’S SIGNATURE. -​ AMA- When a patient decides to leave the hospital against a doctor's advice, the case is labeled a discharge "against medical advice" (AMA). This label is used in part to protect doctors and the hospital from liability, as it's possible the patient may become ill or die as a result of the early discharge. It is used when someone makes a decision about their medical care, especially a decision to leave a hospital, when a doctor has not advised them to do this, or has advised them not to do it.