Medical Ethics & Patient Rights Flashcards
7 cards from real CLT 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 Ethics & Patient Rights flashcards as text
A patient requests access to their own laboratory test records. Under HIPAA, the covered entity must generally provide access within:
Answer: 30 days, with one 30-day extension if needed
HIPAA's Privacy Rule requires covered entities to provide patients access to their PHI within 30 days, with a possible 30-day extension for good cause.
When a laboratory technologist is uncertain whether releasing a result to a third party is appropriate, the best resource is:
Answer: The laboratory's compliance officer or legal counsel
Compliance officers and legal counsel provide authoritative guidance on information release questions involving HIPAA or state law.
A patient with limited English proficiency needs to provide consent for a complex laboratory procedure. The most appropriate approach is to:
Answer: Use a qualified medical interpreter to explain and obtain consent
Qualified medical interpreters must be used to ensure meaningful informed consent for patients with limited English proficiency, as family members may omit or alter information.
Which term describes the obligation of laboratory professionals to keep patient information confidential except when legally or ethically required to disclose?
Answer: Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the ethical and legal duty to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure.
A state law requires mandatory reporting of confirmed cases of a specific sexually transmitted infection. A laboratory technologist who reports such a case to the health department is:
Answer: Fulfilling a legally mandated public health duty that is permitted under HIPAA
HIPAA permits disclosure of PHI without patient authorization when required by law, including mandatory public health reporting.
A laboratory technologist is pressured by a supervisor to release a patient's results to an employer without the patient's authorization. The correct action is to:
Answer: Refuse and report the pressure to compliance or HR
Releasing PHI to an employer without valid patient authorization violates HIPAA, and technologists must refuse and report improper pressure.
In research settings, patient specimens collected for clinical care may only be used for research if:
Answer: The IRB has approved the research and appropriate consent or waiver is in place
Use of patient specimens for research requires IRB oversight and either patient consent or a formal waiver of consent per the Common Rule.