LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING

PRESENTED BY:

S. LINDA

M.Sc. Final year

JINSAR

INTRODUCTION

Law is the result of the minimum level of shared values or ethics of a community of people. Law and ethics are related. Nurses may act in ways that are legal but not ethical. Both law and ethics are related to politics.

Law means a body of rules to guide human action

DEFINITION

Laws are “rules of conduct, established and enforced by authority, which prohibit extremes in behaviour so that one can live without fear for oneself or one’s property”.

- By Sullivan and Decker, 2001

TYPES OF LAW

1. Common law 2. Criminal law 3. Civil law

TORTS

1. Intentional torts Assault Battery Invasion of Privacy Defamation of character 2. Unintentional torts Malpractice Negligence

IMPORTANCE OF LAW

Importance of Law to the Nurse:Nurses have more responsibilityIncreased numbers of Advanced Practice NursesLaw is there to assist in the decision-making

process involved in nursing practiceLaw is there for the protection of nursing

practiceLaw is there for the identification of the risk of

liability

FIVE LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING

1. Signatures Are Golden 2. Documentation 3. Report It or Tort It 4. Rights to Privacy 5. You’re doing WHAT?

MEDICO-LEGAL ISSUES Consent Capacity Advance directives Blood sample or toxic substances

screen

LEGAL NEGLIGENCE OF NURSE

Failure to use equipment in a responsible manner.

Failure to assess and monitor and failure to communicate .

Failure to document . Failure to act as a patient advocate

LEGAL MALPRACTICE IN NURSING

Delegation. Early discharge . Nursing shortage. Advances in technology . Increased autonomy and responsibility. Better-informed consumers . Expanded legal definitions of liability.

CURRENT LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING

HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) -HIPAA defines numerous offenses relating to health care and sets civil and criminal penalties for them. It also creates several programs to control fraud and abuse within the health care system.

CURRENT LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING (CONTD.)

EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act ) –patients treated under EMTALA may not be able to pay or have insurance or other programs pay for the associated costs, they are legally responsible for any costs incurred as a result of their care under civil law.Patients whose advance intention it is to receive medical care and fail to pay cannot be held criminally liable unless they intentionally and knowingly provide false identifying information to dodge billing.[

Electronic health record - An electronic health record (EHR) is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations.

Failure or damages caused during installation or utilization of an EHR system has been feared as a threat in lawsuits . Similarly, it's important to recog-nize that the implementation of electronic health records carries with it significant legal risks.

PATIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS

Information for patients Choice of providers and plans Access to emergency services Taking part in treatment decisions Respect and non-discrimination Confidentiality (privacy) of health information Complaints and appeals Consumer responsibilities

LEGAL ROLE OF THE NURSE

Provider of Service Ensure that client receives competent, safe, &

holistic careRender care by “standards of reasonable,

prudent person”Supervise/evaluate that which has been

delegatedDocumentation of careMaintain clinical competency

CONCLUSION

A number of legal issues are related to nursing practice, including licensing, nurse practice acts, and standards of care. However, in these litigious times, the issue that most concerns those considering a career in nursing are negligence and malpractice.