1–10: Patient Rights and Privacy
Informed Consent
Explanation: Healthcare providers must obtain informed consent before treatment, explaining risks, benefits, and alternatives. Failure to do so can lead to legal claims.
HIPAA Violations
Explanation: Breaching patient confidentiality by improperly disclosing health information can result in fines and lawsuits.
Patient Access to Records
Explanation: Patients have a legal right to access their medical records under HIPAA. Providers must comply within a set timeframe.
Right to Refuse Treatment
Also read:
- https://insightfullawhelp.com/40-critical-questions-about-health-law-in-modern-times/
- https://insightfullawhelp.com/20-health-law-questions-and-their-relevance-to-patients/
- https://insightfullawhelp.com/25-faqs-about-medical-malpractice-and-health-rights/
Description: A capable adult has the right to accept or reject any medical intervention, even life-saving ones.
Healthcare Discrimination
Description: It is unlawful to based treatment on race, gender, disability, or any other protected class. Their federal laws include the ADA and Title VI.
Medical Billing Transparency
Description: Federal law demands clear billing. This empowers patients to know what they pay for and challenge mistakes.
Surprise Medical Bills
Description: The No Surprises Act by the federal government stops surprise bills for out-of-network care for patients.
Explanation: Patients can state healthcare preferences using advance directives, which providers must respect.
Emergency Treatment Duties
Explanation: Hospitals are mandated to offer emergency treatment under EMTALA regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.
Availability of Experimental Treatments
Explanation: Patients suffering from terminal conditions may receive experimental treatments under such legislation as the Right to Try Act.
11–20: Provider Duties
Standard of Care
Explanation: Providers are required to follow standard medical practices; failure to do so may lead to malpractice claims.
Telemedicine Rules
Explanations: Providers need to respect state licensure laws and the patient’s confidentiality.
Medical Malpractice
Explanation: Liability for the medical providers can occur for negligence in practice, causing damage, like misdiagnosis, surgical error, or a failure to treat.
Pharmaceutical Liability
Explanation: Prescriptions of unsafe medicines with inadequate warning may lead to a claim against providers.
False Claims Act Violations
Explanation: Presenting fictitious claims to government healthcare agencies, such as Medicare, leads to severe consequences.
Scope of Practice Violations
Explanation: Professionals working outside their area of authorized competence are liable to both legal and professional consequences.
Duty to Warn
Explanation: Professionals may violate confidence in order to alert third parties of threats that a patient poses.
Malfunctioning Medical Devices
Explanation: Professionals will share liability with providers who knowingly utilize defective medical devices.
Report Abuse, Neglect, or Public Health Threats
Explanation: Professionals must report suspected abuse, neglect, or public health threats, such as infectious diseases.
Abandonment of Patients
Explanation: Providers terminating care without reasonable notice or alternatives will be liable.
21–30: Systemic Issues and Public Health
Healthcare Fraud and Abuse
Explanation: Billing for services not rendered or unnecessary treatments violates federal fraud laws.
Anti-Kickback Statutes
Explanation: Providers cannot receive financial incentives for referrals to specific services or suppliers.
Stark Law Violations
Explanation: Physicians cannot refer patients to entities where they have a financial interest, with limited exceptions.
Workplace Safety in Healthcare
Explanation: Healthcare employers should adhere to the OSHA rule to ensure protection of staff against biohazards and workplace violence.
Mental Health Parity
Explanation: The Mental Health Parity Act requires insurers to offer equal coverage for mental health services.
Vaccination Requirements
Explanation: Laws may require vaccines for schools or employment; however, exemptions might be available based on medical or religious grounds.
Healthcare Accessibility
Explanation: Under the ADA, providers must make facilities and services accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Genetic Privacy and Discrimination
Explanation: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) bars discrimination in health care or employment on the basis of genetic information.
Medical Research Ethics
Explanation: Researchers are obligated to secure informed consent and to protect research participants in clinical studies, under federal law.
Pandemic Response Laws
Explanation: Public health laws authorize governments to enact quarantine, vaccination, and reporting mandates in the face of pandemics.