CIT Medical Ethics & Patient Rights 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient with dementia cannot provide informed consent for implant surgery. Who is the most appropriate surrogate decision-maker?
- The treating dentist
- A legally designated healthcare proxy or power of attorney (Correct answer)
- The office receptionist
- Any family member present at the appointment
Correct answer: A legally designated healthcare proxy or power of attorney
A legally designated healthcare proxy or durable power of attorney for healthcare is the appropriate surrogate when a patient lacks decision-making capacity.
Question 2: Which ethical principle obligates an implantology technician to act in the patient's best interest even when the patient may prefer a different course of action?
- Autonomy
- Non-maleficence
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Justice
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence requires healthcare providers to act in ways that promote the patient's best health interests and well-being.
Question 3: A patient refuses to sign a consent form for implant placement but verbally agrees to proceed. What should the clinician do?
- Proceed based on verbal consent alone
- Delay the procedure until written consent is obtained (Correct answer)
- Have a witness sign instead of the patient
- Perform the procedure and document verbal consent afterward
Correct answer: Delay the procedure until written consent is obtained
Written informed consent should be obtained before invasive procedures; verbal consent alone is insufficient documentation for implant surgery.
Question 4: Under HIPAA, which of the following is a permissible disclosure of patient information without explicit authorization?
- Sharing records with the patient's employer
- Disclosing to a treating specialist for continuity of care (Correct answer)
- Providing records to a marketing company
- Discussing the case in a public online forum
Correct answer: Disclosing to a treating specialist for continuity of care
HIPAA permits disclosure of protected health information to other treating providers for treatment purposes without patient authorization.
Question 5: A patient asks to see their dental records. Under HIPAA, the practice must provide access within how many days?
- 7 days
- 30 days (with one 30-day extension if needed) (Correct answer)
- 60 days
- 90 days
Correct answer: 30 days (with one 30-day extension if needed)
HIPAA requires covered entities to provide patients access to their records within 30 days, with a one-time 30-day extension allowed.
Question 6: Which scenario best illustrates a violation of the ethical principle of justice in implant care?
- Offering all patients the same treatment options regardless of ability to pay
- Providing higher quality implants only to patients who can afford premium fees (Correct answer)
- Charging higher fees for more complex cases
- Referring uninsured patients to community dental clinics
Correct answer: Providing higher quality implants only to patients who can afford premium fees
Justice requires fair, equitable treatment; withholding higher quality care solely based on ability to pay violates this principle.
Question 7: A patient discloses during consultation that they are HIV-positive and asks that this not be shared with the dental lab. What is the best course of action?
- Honor the request completely and share no information with the lab
- Refuse to treat the patient to avoid lab notification issues
- Follow universal precautions and share only the minimum necessary health information for safe lab work (Correct answer)
- Disclose the full HIV status to all lab personnel
Correct answer: Follow universal precautions and share only the minimum necessary health information for safe lab work
Universal precautions apply to all patients, and only the minimum necessary information relevant to safe prosthetic fabrication should be shared with the lab.
CIT Medical Ethics & Patient Rights 2
A patient with dementia cannot provide informed consent for implant surgery.
Who is the most appropriate surrogate decision-maker?