Interactive Ready for Review: Interactivities

Interactive Ready for Review for Chapter 3 - Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues

As the scope of emergency medical care becomes more complex and widely available, litigation involving participants in emergency medical services will increase.

The outlines the care you are able to provide to the patient and is most commonly defined by law; the medical director further defines the %%1%%.

The is the manner in which you must act or behave when treating sick or injured patients. Some standards are imposed by local custom, the law, or institutions.

A duty to act is the responsibility of an individual to provide patient care. If you are off duty or out of your jurisdiction, you may not have a legal duty to act; however, you do have a moral and ethical duty to act because of your training and expertise.

is the failure to provide the same care that a person of similar training would provide in a similar situation. Determination of %%3%% is based on duty, breach of duty, damages, and proximate cause.

Abandonment is the termination of care without the patient's consent and without making provisions for the transfer of care to a health care professional with skills at the same or a higher level than yours. Abandonment is a legally and ethically serious act.

You must receive consent from a patient before beginning care. A conscious adult patient who can make a rational decision will be able to give you consent. %%4%% consent must also be informed.

When a patient is unconscious and unable to give consent, the law assumes implied consent, therefore treatment should proceed.

You should try to obtain consent from a parent or guardian of a minor whenever possible. You should never withhold lifesaving care.

is defined as unlawfully placing a person in fear of immediate harm without the person's consent.

is unlawfully touching a person; this includes providing emergency care without consent.

To protect yourself from charges, be sure to obtain expressed consent whenever possible.

Mentally competent patients have the right to refuse treatment. In these instances, be sure to have the patient sign a refusal form, and make sure your department keeps a copy.

Many states have adopted and other laws that provide immunity to EMS personnel, provided that injury to the patient was not the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the EMT-I, and that treatment was not provided for remuneration.

An is a written document that specifies medical treatment in case a mentally competent patient becomes unable to make decisions.

A gives you permission to not attempt resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest. Your ambulance service should have protocols to follow when you are faced with an %%8%% or a %%9%%.

Communication between you and the patient is confidential and should not be disclosed without permission from the patient or a court order.

Records and reports are important; make sure that you compile a complete and accurate record of each incident in which you come in contact with sick or injured patients. You may need to testify some day, and the courts consider an action or procedure that was not recorded on the written report as not having been performed, and an incomplete or untidy report can be considered evidence of incomplete or inexpert medical care.

You should know the special reporting requirements about abuse of children, elderly people, and others; injuries related to crimes; drug-related injuries; and childbirth. Be sure to note whether patients are carrying some type of medical identification information. If you fail to take this information into account, you may harm the patient.