Page 26 - PHLEBOTOMY STUDY GUIDE

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LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

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 individuals.
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: the wrongful activity must have caused the injury or harm that
occurred.

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.

Tort
It 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.

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