Medical Ethics and Law Flashcards

What is the correct way to fix an error in a paper surgical record?

Answer: Draw a single line through it, write the correction, and initial and date it

A single line keeps the original entry legible, preserving the record's legal integrity.

The primary purpose of an incident (occurrence) report after a dropped intraocular lens is to:

Answer: Support quality improvement and risk management

Incident reports are internal risk-management tools used to find causes and prevent recurrence, and they are not filed in the chart.

The Universal Protocol, which includes site marking and the time-out, was established by which organization to prevent wrong-site surgery?

Answer: The Joint Commission

The Joint Commission's Universal Protocol requires pre-procedure verification, site marking, and a time-out.

Operating on the wrong eye is classified by the National Quality Forum as a:

Answer: Never event (serious reportable event)

Wrong-site surgery is a 'never event,' a serious, largely preventable error that should never happen.

A surgical technologist breaks sterile technique while no one else notices. Reporting and correcting the break demonstrates:

Answer: Surgical conscience

Surgical conscience is the personal commitment to admit and correct breaks in asepsis whether or not anyone saw them.

Leaving a sedated patient alone in the OR without arranging coverage could expose a technologist to a claim of:

Answer: Abandonment

Abandonment is ending care for a dependent patient without proper handoff to a qualified person.

Making false written statements that damage a coworker's professional reputation is called:

Answer: Libel

Libel is written defamation, while slander is spoken defamation.