Deck 14: Legal Aspects of Health Care

Question 1

A patient is requesting a priest to come and visit.Which type of law is the nurse following when the nurse calls for a clergy to visit the patient?

A)administrative
B)constitutional
C)federal
D)state

Answer 1

constitutional

Question 2

Tort law is concerned with:

A)torts and lies, and always being correct
B)always being correct and failure to show up for jury duty
C)failure to show up for jury duty and touching people when they don't want to be touched
D)touching people when they don't want to be touched and always being correct

Answer 2

failure to show up for jury duty and touching people when they don't want to be touched

Question 3

According to contract law,an agreement must contain the following in order to be considered legal:

A)an agreement between two people that states what the first party must do
B)an agreement between two people in which a fee was paid up front
C)a mutual understanding of the obligations that the contract imposes upon each party
D)must be a written document

Answer 3

a mutual understanding of the obligations that the contract imposes upon each party

Question 4

Assault differs from battery in that it:

A)is the act instead of the threat of the act being done without permission
B)is the threat instead of the actual act itself being done without permission
C)concerns being offensive without permission
D)concerns the thought without the act or threat

Question 5

Nurse W is a new graduate who is working on a unit project regarding patient care and gastrointestinal (GI)treatments.While interviewing Mr.P,who has been incessantly complaining of his lack of daily bowel movements,complete with graphic details about the type and consistency,she tells him that if he is not quiet,she will give him an enema he will never forget.Nurse W's actions are an example of:

A)invasion of privacy
B)battery
C)assault
D)defamation

Question 6

There is a going-away party for a nurse you work with who has been promoted to a managerial position in another facility that is part of the same health care organization you both currently work under.Photographs have been taken of nurses around the unit as a way for the nurse to remember fellow colleagues.If patients are inadvertently photographed and no consent for this has been obtained,this is an example of:

A)assault
B)battery
C)invasion of privacy
D)defamation

Question 7

_____ law is concerned with the protection of the rights of citizens.

A)Tort
B)Civil
C)Administrative
D)HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

Question 8

Which United States-based entity has the largest electronic health record system?

A)U.S. Indian Health Services
B)U.S. Public Health Service
C)U.S. Department of Health Services and Resources
D)U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Question 9

Good Samaritan laws were enacted to protect the health care professional from legal liability.An example of care rendered that does not fall into this category is:

A)a doctor who delivers a baby during a football game
B)a nurse who sets a broken leg while hiking in the mountains
C)an EMT who, upon arrival at an accident, intubates an accident victim who stopped breathing and who was forcibly thrown from his own vehicle
D)a nurse who stops to help at the scene of a water skiing accident

Question 10

Nurse C,a nurse with 20 years of OB-GYN experience,was asked to float to the ER.She refused.Was she correct in this decision and why?

A)She was correct because if she did this once she may be expected to float on a regular basis.
B)She was incorrect because she felt she had enough seniority to not have to float.
C)She was incorrect because she just did not want to float.
D)She was correct because with her lack of experience in the ER, she felt she could not safely care for her patients.

Question 11

Risk management programs:

A)help protect hospitals from bioethical problems
B)have an emphasis upon quality improvement and protection from financial liability
C)can be combined with quality management goals; hence no need for specially trained people
D)only investigate nurses who do not practice according to evidence-based practice

Question 12

The Nurse Licensure Compact is:

A)a plan for all nurses to need only one license with a large annual fee
B)a project of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing
C)a type of specialized organizational tool used in licensure and the NCLEX examinations
D)a spin-off of EEOC legislation

Question 13

Nurses should be sure that their documentation includes a number of key criteria in order to be thorough and help protect them from liability.Which of the following is not necessarily correct regarding thorough documentation practices?

A)complies with professional practice standards, such as those provided by the ANA
B)can use the FATE acronym to ensure good charting practices
C)is written evidence of what was done, the patient's response, and any revisions made in the patient's plan of care
D)a method of communication among health care providers responsible for the patient's care

Question 14

The reasonable person standard states that:

A)it takes a reasonable person to maintain a good relationship
B)reasonable people tend to have reasonable children and make good partners
C)it is used to demonstrate a breach of duty
D)it is used by State Boards of Nursing to evaluate the male-female ratios according to clinical position

Question 15

The use of a whiteboard to organize nursing assignments per shift or to give patients information about their practitioners and/or diagnosis is a violation of:

A)civil law
B)tort law
C)HIPAA
D)OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

Question 16

Mrs.J's son has medical power of attorney for her and has arrived at her bedside to discuss care options with her.Mrs.J has just been dialyzed,has not received any pain medication,and is rational in her decision making.Mrs.J's son decides that she should not receive any more dialysis treatments due to the acute stage of her illness,the discomfort that she has suffered,and her inability to care for herself.Mrs.J disagrees.Whose decision should be followed?

A)Mrs. J's son
B)Mrs. J
C)Both, and the hospital's ethics committee should convene and decide
D)Neither, this is a legal decision and should be done by a court of law

Question 17

A state board of nursing that develops rules specifying the duties of registered nurses is displaying a type of law under which specific branch of the government at the state level?

A)tort
B)legislative
C)administrative
D)judicial

Question 18

Which of the following is not one of the reasons that the implementation of the electronic medical record has been slow in the United States?

A)stark antidefamation law
B)federal antikickback statute
C)HIPAA
D)antitrust laws

Question 19

Providing CPR and resuscitation to a patient who has an advance directive puts the caregiver at risk for:

A)negligence
B)battery
C)assault
D)licensure

Question 20

Three types of public laws are:

A)constitutional, governmental, and criminal
B)criminal, constitutional, and administrative
C)criminal, tort, and administrative
D)administrative, governmental, and civil

Question 21

Identify the reasons nurses may need to carry their own malpractice insurance.Select all that apply.

A)their institution's insurance may not cover them if they fail to comply with its policies and procedures.
B)nurses are being named individually in lawsuits.
C)their institution may fail to cover them if they acted outside the scope of their employment.
D)nurses are being considered easy targets for lawsuits.

Question 22

Other than having a legal record of patient care,documentation is important as:

A)evidence of physician orders
B)evidence of professional standard compliance
C)evidence of staffing patterns
D)evidence of consent for treatment

Question 23

A number of issues that impact nursing practice are covered by criminal law.Which of the following are some of these issues? Select all that apply.

A)criminal background checks
B)prohibition against substance abuse
C)Medicare requirements
D)reportability of physical abuse

Question 24

One way to avoid or decrease professional liability is to:

A)have every employee take a flu shot
B)have a risk management department
C)avoid taking telephone or verbal orders
D)deliver care in teams

Question 25

A health care organization can do two things to comply with criminal law to protect the public.These are:

A)background checks and drug screens
B)drug screens and vaccination requirements
C)vaccination and OSHA requirements
D)background checks and vaccination requirements

Question 26

Following are suggestions for consulting and collaborating with attorneys.Which are not correct? Select all that apply.

A)Look them straight in the eye and try not to worry about costs.
B)Be attentive and don't set your own course.
C)Retain a specialist and do not notify your carrier of a possible liability until you are sure.
D)Weed through the writing and set your own course.

Question 27

A nursing checklist of actions to decrease liability notes a number of different ways to help prevent liability.Which of the following are suggestions from this list? Select all that apply.

A)communicate with your patients and keep them informed
B)maintain ongoing monitoring of the process and outcome of patient care through incident reports, sentinel events, etc.
C)develop physical, mental, and verbal "no abuse" policies
D)frequently use verbal orders and the telephone to promote rapid transmission of information to help ensure good patient outcomes

Question 28

State laws are interpreted as administrative rules when they:

A)specify licensing requirements
B)specify payment for federal funds
C)protect employees from violence
D)mandate the requirements for nursing education

Question 29

The respondent superior law states:

A)nurses may be sued individually
B)employers must cover liability insurance for the nurse
C)nurses must carry liability insurance
D)the hospital is responsible for nurses damage

Question 30

Which are terms that relate to the tort law on intentionally false communication or publication? Select all that apply.

A)libel
B)slander
C)defamation
D)DNAR