Medical Ethics and Law Flashcards

A drug-screen specimen for a forensic case is left unattended on a counter without documentation for an hour. The primary legal concern is:

Answer: Breach of the chain of custody

Any undocumented gap in specimen control breaks chain of custody and can make results legally inadmissible.

A subpoena duces tecum requires a laboratory to:

Answer: Produce specified records or documents

A subpoena duces tecum orders the production of documents or records, such as lab reports.

Which federal law prohibits health insurers and employers from discriminating based on genetic test results?

Answer: GINA

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (2008) bars genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment.

Under CLIA regulations, routine laboratory test records and reports must generally be retained for at least:

Answer: 2 years

CLIA requires retention of test records and reports for at least 2 years, with longer periods for pathology and immunohematology.

Which situation is a legally recognized exception to patient confidentiality requiring mandatory reporting?

Answer: A positive test for a state-designated reportable disease such as syphilis

Public health laws require reporting of designated communicable diseases regardless of patient consent.

The legal doctrine meaning "the thing speaks for itself," used when negligence is obvious, is:

Answer: Res ipsa loquitur

Res ipsa loquitur allows negligence to be inferred when the injury would not ordinarily occur without negligence.

A technologist sells a patient's lab results to a marketing company. Under HIPAA, this knowing violation for commercial gain can result in:

Answer: Criminal penalties including fines up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison

HIPAA criminal penalties for obtaining or disclosing PHI with intent to sell reach $250,000 and 10 years imprisonment.