Medical Law and Ethics Chapter 6 with Certified Solutions

Medical Law and Ethics Chapter 6 with Certified Solutions Name and briefly describe the four Cs of medical malpractice prevention. *caring: care about patients and colleagues *communication: communicate clearly and accurately *competence: know your limitations, update credentials, confer with other professionals, stay informed *charting: documentation is proof, chart clearly and accurately. Briefly describe how practicing effective communication skills can help prevent a medical malpractice lawsuit. *Misunderstandings and misinformation often leads to lawsuits. *If you communicate clearly and accurately and get confirmation from patients that they understand, this can help prevent lawsuits. If a patient refuses treatment, what legal options remain for the health care practitioner in charge? *A patient cannot be forced to accept treatment, evaluation, or testing. *His decision to decline should be documented in his patient record. Ideally, his refusal should be obtained in writing, but should definitely be noted in his record. Name five reasons often cited for the suing of health care practitioners by patient and their families. *To prevent the perceived injury from happening to anyone else *to receive an explanation *to get an admission of negligence *I was angry *to punish the doctor Denial a defense that claims that innocence of the charges or that one or more of the four Ds of negligence are lacking Affirmative defenses defenses used by defendants in medical professional liability suits that allow the accused to present factual evidence that the patient's condition was caused by some factor other than the defendant's negligence Contributory negligence an affirmative defense that alleges that the plaintiff, through a lack of care, caused or contributed to his or her own injury Assumption of risk a legal defense that holds that the defendant is not guilty of a negligent act because the plaintiff knew of and accepted beforehand any risks involved Emergency a type of affirmative defense in which the person who comes to the aid of a victim in an emergency is not held liable under certain circumstances Technical defense defenses used in a lawsuit that are based on legal technicalities Release of tortfeasor a technical defense that prohibits a lawsuit against the person who caused an injury (the tortfeasor) if he or she was expressly released from further liability in the settlement of a lawsuit Res judicata "The thing has been decided." Legal principle that a claim cannot be retried between the same parties if it has already been legally resolved Statute of limitations that period of time