Page 19 - EKG STUDY GUIDE

Legal Considerations

Informed consent: This is consent given by the patient who is made aware of any procedure to
be performed, its risks, expected outcomes, and alternatives.

Patient confidentiality: This is the key concept of HIPAA. All patients have a right to privacy
and all information should remain privileged. Discuss patient information only with the patient’s
physician or office personnel that need certain information to do their job. Obtain a signed
consent form to release medical information to the insurance company or other individual.

Negligence: This is the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would
give under similar circumstances and someone suffers injury because of another’s failure to live
up to a required duty of care.
The four elements of negligence, (4 Ds), are:
1. Duty: duty of care
2. Derelict: breach of duty of care
3. Direct cause: legally recognizable injury occurs as a result of the breach of duty of care.
4. Damage: wrongful activity must have caused the injury or harm that occurred.

Tort: Is a wrongful act that results in injury to one person by another. Some examples of
common torts that can occur in the clinic are the following:
Battery - The basis of tort in this case is the unprivileged touching of one person by
another. When a procedure is to be performed on a patient, the patient must give consent
in full knowledge of the procedure and the risk it entails (informed consent).
Invasion of privacy – This is the release of medical records without the patient’s
knowledge and permission.
Defamation of character – This consists of injury to another person’s reputation, name,
or character through spoken (slander) or written (libel) words.

Good Samaritan Law - This law deals with the rendering of first aid by health care
professionals at the scene of an accident or sudden injury. It encourages health care
professionals to provide medical care within the scope of their training without fear of being
sued for negligence.

National Healthcareer Association EKG Study Guide (Ea) 21