Legal Issues In Nursing And Health Care Chapter 8

Front 1

Federal Regulations that impact nursing practice:

Back 1

HIPPA,ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act, The Mental Health Parity Act, The Patient Self-Determination Act

Front 2

Criminal and Civil Laws

Back 2

Violations of criminal law may be categorized as a felony (serious crime, such as homicide) or misdemeanor (less serious crime such as petty theft)

Front 3

A nurse who falsifies a record to cover up a mistake may be found guilty of breaking a criminal lawCivil Laws protect the individual rights of people. Tort laws are civil laws that relate to nursing care.

Back 3

Torts are unintentional, quasi-intentional or intentional. Negligence and malpractice are unintentional torts.

Front 4

Statutory law

Back 4

Laws written and enacted by legislative bodiesViolations are criminal offenses and are punishable by fines or imprisonment

Front 5

Federal statutes related to nursing and health care Have a major effect on nursing care—mandate a minimum standard of care in all settings that receive federal funds (Medicare, Medicaid)

Back 5

The Federal False Claims Act—makes it an offense to submit a false claim to the government for payment of health care services “Whistle-blower” reports false or fraudulent claim

Front 6

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law (EMTALA)

Back 6

Prohibits refusal of care for indigent and uninsured patients seeking medical assistance in emergency departmentsProhibits transfer of unstable patients, including women in active labor, from one facility to another

Front 7

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

Back 7

prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities by removing barriers that might prevent the same opportunities available to persons without disabilities

Front 8

Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990

Back 8

requires federally funded hospitals (Medicare, Medicaid) to inform adult patients in writing about their right to make treatment choices and to ask patients if they have a living will or durable power of attorney

Front 9

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law No. 104-191) (HIPAA)

Back 9

ensures confidentiality of a patient’s medical records; sets guidelines for maintaining the privacy of health data

Front 10

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act

Back 10

allows certain disclosures of patient safety data

Front 11

Nurse practice act and board of nursing rules and regulations – North Carolina Nurse Practice Act

Back 11

Define scope and limitations of nursing practiceVary from state to state

Front 12

California first to enact a law in January 2004 that mandates the establishment of minimum nurse/patient ratios in acute care facilities

Back 12

Research indicates that improved nurse/patient ratios are associated with lower “failure-to-rescue” rates and lower inpatient mortality rates

Front 13

Common Law

Back 13

Created through cases heard and decided in federal and state appellate courts—also known as decisional or judge-made law

Front 14

Negligence: failure to act in a reasonable and prudent manner

Back 14

Malpractice: special type of negligence; that is, the failure of a professional, a person with specialized education and training, to act in a reasonable and prudent manner

Front 15

Elements essential to prove negligence or malpractice

Back 15

Nurse owed patient a special duty of care based on the establishment of a nurse-patient relationshipNurse breached duty to the patient or clientThe patient suffered actual harm or damageProximate cause or a causal connection has been established between the standard of care provided by the nurse and the patient’s injury

Front 16

Most frequent allegations of nursing negligence

Back 16

Failure to ensure patient safetyImproper treatment or negligent performance of treatmentFailure to monitor patient and report significant findingsMedication errorsFailure to follow agency’s policies and procedures