Chapter 4: Law, Ethics, and Professionalism in Health Care

Law Types of Law Public: government vs. citizens Criminal Constitutional Administrative Civil: private citizen vs. private citizen

Law (cont’d) Public vs. civil law

Law (cont’d) Types of Law (cont’d) Common Traditional civil law of area or region Based on judge’s rulings of cases Statutory Enacted by legislatures Enforced by courts

Law (cont’d) Types of Law (cont’d) Tort Wrongful act causing harm Requires restitution Intentional vs. unintentional

Law (cont’d) Kinds of torts

Law (cont’d) Types of Law (cont’d) Assault: threat or attempt to touch a person without consent Battery: touching a person without consent Invasion of privacy False imprisonment Defamation of character Libel Slander

Law (cont’d) Liability and Negligence Negligence: careless or senseless behavior resulting in harm Malpractice Illegal, unethical, negligent, or immoral behavior Results in failure of duties or responsibility Reporting abuse

Law (cont’d) Protecting Patients’ Rights Advocacy: supporting best interests of all patients Consent Informed Implied

Law (cont’d) Confidentiality and HIPAA Patient’s right to privacy Privacy rule Protection of patient’s personal health information Exceptions

Law (cont’d) Right to Die Living will Durable power of attorney for health care

Ethics Ethical Principles Autonomy Justice Nonmaleficence (do no harm) Beneficence (do good) Veracity (honesty) Fidelity (keep promises) Confidentiality

Ethics (cont’d) Joint Commission Mission: improve safety & quality of care to public Accredits health care facilities Supports performance improvement Established standards of care related to ethics

Ethics (cont’d) Ethics Committees Multidisciplinary teams for ethical decision-making Required by Joint Commission for all health care institutions

Ethics (cont’d) Professional Codes of Ethics: Common Factors Quality of care Primary commitment to patient Education Collegiality Ethics Collaboration Research Resource utilization Confidentiality

Ethics (cont’d) Ethical Decision-Making Rational & systematic Based on ethical principles, not emotions or intuition Serves patient’s best interest Preserves integrity of all involved

Ethics (cont’d) Systematic approach for ethical decision-making

Ethics (cont’d) Ethical Dilemmas Genetic testing Stem cell research Cloning Physician-assisted suicide

Professionalism Definition and Characteristics of Professionalism A set of values, behaviors, and relationships that form a foundation on which patient and colleague trust is formed Self-regulation Adherence to legal & ethical guidelines

Professionalism (cont’d) Competence Lifelong learning Continuing education units Membership in peer association or professional organization Humility & willingness to give & receive constructive criticism

Professionalism (cont’d) Professional Associations: Benefits Continuing education classes Subscriptions to professional publications Access to online resources Professional conferences, conventions, & workshops Networking opportunities Information on new technologies Management tools Ethics guidelines Patient educational materials