Chapter 11: Law, Ethics, and Professionalism in Health Care

1. Chapter 11: Law, Ethics, and Professionalism in Health Care

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

3. Law (cont’d) • Public vs. civil law

4. 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

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

6. Law (cont’d) • Kinds of torts

7. 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

8. 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

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

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

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

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

13. 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

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

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

16. 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

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

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

19. 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

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

21. 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