AK Medical Ethics & Patient Rights 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The concept of 'non-maleficence' in healthcare ethics means a practitioner must:
- Always refer patients to specialists
- Avoid causing unnecessary harm to patients (Correct answer)
- Prioritize low-cost treatments
- Obtain second opinions before all procedures
Correct answer: Avoid causing unnecessary harm to patients
Non-maleficence is the foundational ethical obligation to avoid causing unnecessary harm or injury to the patient.
Question 2: An AK patient discloses during a session that they are experiencing domestic violence. The practitioner's ethical duty is to:
- Keep the disclosure private and continue treatment only
- Provide information about resources and, where mandated, report appropriately (Correct answer)
- Immediately contact law enforcement without consulting the patient
- Document nothing to protect the patient's privacy
Correct answer: Provide information about resources and, where mandated, report appropriately
Practitioners must provide resource information and comply with any applicable mandatory reporting laws while considering patient safety.
Question 3: Which situation would most clearly represent a conflict of interest for an AK practitioner?
- Treating a colleague's family member at a standard fee
- Recommending supplements the practitioner profits from without disclosing this to the patient (Correct answer)
- Referring a patient to a specialist
- Documenting treatment outcomes
Correct answer: Recommending supplements the practitioner profits from without disclosing this to the patient
Recommending products from which a practitioner financially benefits without disclosure creates a conflict of interest that must be transparently communicated.
Question 4: Which ethical principle is most directly applied when an AK practitioner ensures that all patients, regardless of background, receive equitable quality of care?
- Beneficence
- Non-maleficence
- Justice (Correct answer)
- Veracity
Correct answer: Justice
Justice in healthcare ethics requires fair and equitable distribution of care and resources to all patients without discrimination.
Question 5: A patient asks an AK practitioner about the practitioner's qualifications and training. The practitioner's ethical obligation is to:
- Provide only general information
- Decline to discuss personal credentials
- Be truthful and fully transparent about their qualifications (Correct answer)
- Redirect the conversation to the treatment plan
Correct answer: Be truthful and fully transparent about their qualifications
Veracity (truthfulness) requires practitioners to be honest and transparent with patients about their credentials, training, and scope of practice.
Question 6: When is it ethically permissible for an AK practitioner to breach patient confidentiality without explicit consent?
- When a family member requests information out of concern
- When there is a credible risk of serious harm to the patient or others (Correct answer)
- When the patient has not paid their bill
- When the insurance company requests it for routine billing
Correct answer: When there is a credible risk of serious harm to the patient or others
Confidentiality may ethically be breached only when there is a credible and serious risk of harm to the patient or identifiable others, as a duty to warn.
Question 7: Which federal law primarily governs the privacy of patient health information in the United States?
- ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
- HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) (Correct answer)
- OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act)
- ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act)
Correct answer: HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
HIPAA establishes national standards for protecting the privacy and security of patients' protected health information (PHI) in the US.
AK Medical Ethics & Patient Rights 3
The concept of 'non-maleficence' in healthcare ethics means a practitioner must: