CMA Medical Law and Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient refuses a recommended blood transfusion for religious reasons. What is the medical assistant's best action?
- Arrange the transfusion anyway to save the patient's life
- Document the refusal and notify the physician (Correct answer)
- Contact the patient's family to override the decision
- Call 911 to have the patient committed
Correct 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.
Question 2: Which federal law specifically prohibits discrimination in healthcare settings based on disability?
- HIPAA
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Correct answer)
- OSHA Act
- Stark Law
Correct 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.
Question 3: A physician asks a medical assistant to backdate a medical record entry. The MA should:
- Comply because the physician has ultimate authority
- Backdate the entry but add a note explaining why
- Refuse and report the request to the compliance officer (Correct answer)
- Correct the record and say nothing to protect the physician
Correct 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.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)?
- To allow patients to choose their insurance plan
- To require facilities to inform patients of their right to make advance directives (Correct answer)
- To give families authority over patient decisions
- To mandate organ donation registration
Correct 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.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'res ipsa loquitur' in medical malpractice?
- The patient must prove the physician's intent to harm
- The negligence is so obvious that it speaks for itself (Correct answer)
- Both parties share equal responsibility
- The physician is automatically liable for any adverse outcome
Correct 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).
Question 6: Under HIPAA, which of the following is considered a permissible disclosure of PHI without patient authorization?
- Sharing records with the patient's employer
- Reporting a gunshot wound to law enforcement (Correct answer)
- Discussing patient information with a friend of the patient
- Sending records to a marketing company
Correct 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.
Question 7: A minor arrives alone seeking treatment for a sexually transmitted infection. In most US states, the MA should:
- Refuse to treat without parental consent
- Treat the minor and contact the parents immediately
- Recognize that minors can often consent to STI treatment without parental consent (Correct answer)
- Refer the minor to an adult facility
Correct 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.
CMA Medical Law and Ethics 2
A patient refuses a recommended blood transfusion for religious reasons.
What is the medical assistant's best action?