Legal and Ethical Concepts in Health Care PDF

Legal Concepts Read: Risk Management & Chapter 2 AST Ethical Issues in Chapter 3 Fuller the Health Care System and Operating Room Complete WB Pg 15-1 Focusing on Terminology: Throughout this unit we will find a lot of terminology th...

Legal Concepts Read: Risk Management & Chapter 2 AST Ethical Issues in Chapter 3 Fuller the Health Care System and Operating Room Complete WB Pg 15-1 Focusing on Terminology: Throughout this unit we will find a lot of terminology that is foreign to us (literally) a lot of legal terms are in Latin. However, These terms are still commonly utilized, and you must become familiar with them. Bringing law and ethics into the OR or the health care field all boils down to one term…. Accountability relates directly to law and ethics as accountability is very similar to responsibility. Often the term is translated as: “to be held responsible for.” IS THIS FAIR?  Sal, a Surgical Technologist employed by “Gremlin” Hospital comes to work and skips their scrub, wears scrubs that were stuffed in their locker and proceeds to surgery. The patient develops an infection due to unusually high levels of bioburden in the room….they end up having to have a large portion Doctrine of Corporate Negligence: Jenni starts working at Gremlin hospital as a surgical technologist. One of her teammates notices that she doesn’t know how to properly gown and glove and she doesn’t seem to know the instrument names. When asked where she want to school Jenni says, “I attended Central Piedmont” When Jenni messes up her instrument Doctrine of Foreseeability: This doctrine focuses on the ability to foresee or predict an outcome in advance. This is not the same as predicting the future, instead it is using the information that is provided to be able to determine within reason that the act or activity was likely to have caused harm. Mr. Jones is 6’2” and 360 lbs, he just finished having his left ACL repaired, when moving him from the OR table to the gurney, Carla and Sean lose control of him and he slides off the edge of the table. Mr. Jones breaks his clavicle… who can he sue? Doctrine of Personal Liability: Each person is responsible for their own conduct. Physician cannot assume all responsibility. A surgical technologist sutures a wound closed at the suggestion of the physician, the wound dehisces and opens back up resulting in a longer more painful recovery. The surgical tech has never sutured before and had no training, who is Doctrine of the reasonably prudent person: Non-maleficence: This requires an intention to avoid needless harm or injury that can arise through acts of omission or commission. In more common language it can be considered negligence if you impose a careless or unreasonable harm upon another. If the benefit equals the harm, at least do no harm…do not complete unnecessary procedures if no benefit can be predicted. Primum non Let the master answer: The employer can be held responsible for the actions of the employee or the failings of the practice. “Aeger Primo" is a motto used by surgical technologists and the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) that means "patient first". The motto reflects the commitment to patient safety and advocacy that surgical technologists have. As surgical technologists, they are considered the first, second, and final line of defense to ensure that patients are properly cared for. They are also seen as patient advocates who work as a team to look out for the best interests of the patient and their outcomes. AST.org Look up state laws Read through North Carolina’s state laws for surgical technologists. Next review NY or Colorado state laws (you will need to click the state law link for the actual law) Create a handout or craft a formal letter to your state representatives explaining why you believe that North Carolina should have practice laws or become a certification state. This should include a brief overview of what we do Who will benefit from putting these laws into place And what would your version of the state law look like