Regulatory Compliance & Legal Framework Flashcards
7 cards from real CRE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Regulatory Compliance & Legal Framework flashcards as text
Under HIPAA, which action by a respiratory educator would constitute a privacy violation?
Answer: Discussing a patient's condition with their spouse without written authorization
HIPAA requires written authorization before disclosing PHI to family members unless the patient is present and consents or the disclosure is in the patient's best interest in an emergency.
Which federal agency is primarily responsible for enforcing workplace safety standards that affect respiratory therapy practice?
Answer: OSHA
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) sets and enforces workplace safety standards, including those related to respiratory hazards and PPE requirements.
A CRE discovers that a colleague falsified a patient's medication education record. What is the educator's primary legal and ethical obligation?
Answer: Report the falsification to the appropriate supervisor or compliance officer
Healthcare professionals have a mandatory duty to report falsified medical records, as this constitutes fraud and jeopardizes patient safety and institutional integrity.
Which element is NOT required for a patient's informed consent to be legally valid?
Answer: Presence of a witness who is a licensed clinician
Valid informed consent requires disclosure, comprehension, and voluntariness, but does not legally require a licensed clinician as witness — any competent adult witness is generally acceptable.
When a state respiratory care practice act conflicts with a CMS Conditions of Participation, which standard generally prevails?
Answer: The more stringent standard typically applies
In healthcare regulation, when federal and state standards conflict, the more stringent (protective) standard generally applies to ensure maximum patient safety.
A respiratory educator is asked to provide education to a patient who speaks only Mandarin and the educator does not. What does Title VI of the Civil Rights Act require?
Answer: The facility must provide a qualified interpreter at no cost to the patient
Title VI prohibits discrimination based on national origin, requiring federally funded facilities to provide qualified interpreter services at no cost to ensure meaningful access to care.
Which documentation practice best protects a CRE from liability in a malpractice claim?
Answer: Recording objective observations, patient statements, and teach-back results contemporaneously
Contemporaneous, objective, and specific documentation of education sessions — including teach-back outcomes — provides the strongest legal evidence of standard-of-care compliance.