Upload
linda-sapam
View
14.168
Download
7
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING.
Citation preview
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.