Medical Law and Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real CMA 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 Law and Ethics flashcards as text
A patient refuses a recommended blood transfusion for religious reasons. What is the medical assistant's best action?
Answer: Document the refusal and notify the physician
Competent adults have the right to refuse treatment, and the medical assistant must document the refusal and inform the physician.
Which federal law specifically prohibits discrimination in healthcare settings based on disability?
Answer: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires healthcare facilities to provide equal access and reasonable accommodations to patients with disabilities.
A physician asks a medical assistant to backdate a medical record entry. The MA should:
Answer: Refuse and report the request to the compliance officer
Backdating medical records is fraud; the medical assistant must refuse and report this to the compliance officer.
What is the primary purpose of the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)?
Answer: To require facilities to inform patients of their right to make advance directives
The PSDA requires healthcare facilities to inform patients about their rights to create advance directives such as living wills and healthcare proxies.
Which of the following best describes 'res ipsa loquitur' in medical malpractice?
Answer: The negligence is so obvious that it speaks for itself
Res ipsa loquitur is a legal doctrine meaning 'the thing speaks for itself,' applied when negligence is self-evident (e.g., a surgical instrument left inside a patient).
Under HIPAA, which of the following is considered a permissible disclosure of PHI without patient authorization?
Answer: Reporting a gunshot wound to law enforcement
Reporting certain injuries like gunshot wounds to law enforcement is a mandatory permissible disclosure allowed under HIPAA.
A minor arrives alone seeking treatment for a sexually transmitted infection. In most US states, the MA should:
Answer: Recognize that minors can often consent to STI treatment without parental consent
Most states have 'mature minor' or specific public health statutes allowing minors to consent to STI diagnosis and treatment without parental involvement.