Professional Standards and Ethics Flashcards

A physician learns that a patient's employer is requesting medical records without patient authorization. The appropriate response is to:

Answer: Refuse to release records without a valid patient authorization or legal requirement

HIPAA requires patient authorization for disclosure of protected health information to employers except in specific legally defined circumstances.

Which of the following best describes 'non-abandonment' as an ethical obligation in family medicine?

Answer: A physician who ends a patient relationship must provide reasonable notice and referral assistance

Non-abandonment requires that if a physician ends a patient relationship, they must provide adequate notice and assist with transition of care to prevent harm.

A physician suspects a patient is in an abusive domestic relationship but the patient denies it. The most appropriate action is to:

Answer: Document observations, provide information about resources, and create a safety plan

For adult domestic violence victims, the ethical approach involves documentation, resource provision, and safety planning without overriding patient autonomy through mandatory reporting (in most states for competent adults).

When a physician has a conscientious objection to providing a legal medical service, the ethical obligation is to:

Answer: Inform the patient and ensure timely referral to a provider who will offer the service

Physicians may exercise conscientious objection but retain the obligation to inform patients and facilitate access to care through timely referral.

A patient's family asks a physician to withhold a serious diagnosis from the patient 'to protect them.' The physician should:

Answer: Disclose the diagnosis to the patient unless there is evidence of incapacity

Competent patients have the right to know their diagnosis; family preferences do not override patient autonomy, though the physician may explore patient preferences about disclosure.

Under HIPAA's minimum necessary standard, when sharing patient information for treatment purposes, a physician should:

Answer: Share only the information reasonably necessary to accomplish the purpose

HIPAA's minimum necessary standard requires limiting protected health information disclosures to what is reasonably necessary for the intended purpose.

A researcher asks a family physician to identify patients with a specific condition for a clinical trial without patient knowledge. This request is ethically problematic because it:

Answer: Violates patient confidentiality and autonomy by using their information without consent

Using patient information for research purposes without patient knowledge or consent violates confidentiality and the principle of autonomy.