CHAP CHAP Healthcare Ethics & Legal Standards 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which ethical principle requires healthcare providers to act in the best interest of the patient?
- Autonomy
- Justice
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Nonmaleficence
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence is the ethical principle that obligates healthcare providers to act in ways that benefit patients and promote their well-being.
Question 2: What does 'informed consent' require in healthcare?
- That the patient agrees to pay for all services
- That the patient receives information about risks, benefits, and alternatives and voluntarily consents to treatment (Correct answer)
- That the patient's family approves all medical decisions
- That a physician witnesses the patient's signature
Correct answer: That the patient receives information about risks, benefits, and alternatives and voluntarily consents to treatment
Informed consent requires that patients receive adequate information about proposed treatments (including risks, benefits, and alternatives), understand it, and voluntarily agree to proceed.
Question 3: Which legal document allows a person to designate someone to make healthcare decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated?
- Living will
- Healthcare power of attorney (HCPOA) (Correct answer)
- Do Not Resuscitate order
- Patient Bill of Rights
Correct answer: Healthcare power of attorney (HCPOA)
A healthcare power of attorney (also called a healthcare proxy) designates a specific person to make medical decisions on the patient's behalf when the patient cannot make decisions themselves.
Question 4: What is 'patient autonomy' in healthcare ethics?
- The right of providers to make clinical decisions without patient input
- The patient's right to make informed decisions about their own healthcare (Correct answer)
- The automatic right to any treatment a patient requests
- The legal right to refuse payment for care
Correct answer: The patient's right to make informed decisions about their own healthcare
Patient autonomy is the ethical principle that competent individuals have the right to make informed decisions about their own healthcare, including the right to refuse treatment.
Question 5: Under EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act), what are hospital emergency departments required to do?
- Provide free emergency care to all patients regardless of insurance
- Screen all patients for emergency conditions and stabilize before discharge or transfer regardless of ability to pay (Correct answer)
- Accept all patients for inpatient admission
- Report all emergency visits to CMS within 24 hours
Correct answer: Screen all patients for emergency conditions and stabilize before discharge or transfer regardless of ability to pay
EMTALA requires hospital emergency departments to provide an appropriate medical screening examination and necessary stabilizing treatment to all individuals, regardless of ability to pay.
Question 6: Which term describes a healthcare provider's legal duty to report certain conditions or events to government authorities?
- Mandatory reporting (Correct answer)
- Voluntary disclosure
- Privileged communication
- Duty to warn
Correct answer: Mandatory reporting
Mandatory reporting refers to legal requirements for healthcare providers to report specific conditions (such as communicable diseases, child abuse, or gunshot wounds) to designated government authorities.
CHAP CHAP Healthcare Ethics & Legal Standards 1
Which ethical principle requires healthcare providers to act in the best interest of the patient?