Medical-Legal and Ethical Issues Flashcards
7 cards from real CCHP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Medical-Legal and Ethical Issues flashcards as text
A correctional healthcare provider suspects a patient is being physically abused by staff. What is the provider's legal obligation in most U.S. jurisdictions?
Answer: Document observations and report to appropriate oversight authorities
Healthcare providers are mandated reporters with obligations to report suspected abuse even without conclusive evidence.
In correctional health ethics, 'therapeutic privilege' refers to the controversial practice of:
Answer: Withholding information from a patient if disclosure might cause psychological harm
Therapeutic privilege is the paternalistic practice of withholding information from a patient, generally considered ethically unjustifiable in modern practice.
Which constitutional amendment is most directly implicated when an inmate in a pretrial detention facility is denied necessary medical care?
Answer: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause
Pretrial detainees' medical rights are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause, not the Eighth Amendment which applies post-conviction.
A correctional nurse is asked to participate in a hunger strike force-feeding protocol. What ethical issue is MOST central to this dilemma?
Answer: Balancing patient autonomy against the institution's duty to prevent death
Force-feeding hunger strikers pits institutional duty to preserve life against the competent patient's autonomous decision to refuse food.
A correctional health record is subpoenaed in a lawsuit against the facility. The appropriate response is to:
Answer: Preserve and produce records as required by the legal process
Health records must be preserved and produced in response to valid legal process; destruction or alteration constitutes obstruction of justice.
When obtaining informed consent from an incarcerated patient, the clinician must ensure the patient understands all EXCEPT:
Answer: The clinician's personal opinion about the best option
Valid informed consent requires disclosure of diagnosis, treatment options, risks, benefits, and alternatives — the clinician's personal preference is not a required element.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to correctional facilities in which way?
Answer: It requires facilities to provide reasonable accommodations to inmates with disabilities
The Supreme Court (Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections v. Yeskey, 1998) confirmed the ADA applies to state prisons, requiring reasonable accommodations for inmates with disabilities.