DOH Patient Safety & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A physician in Abu Dhabi discovers a colleague is practising while impaired. What is the physician's professional and ethical obligation?
- Ignore it to preserve professional relations
- Report the concern to DOH or the facility's patient safety officer (Correct answer)
- Advise patients to seek a second opinion
- Document it privately without reporting
Correct answer: Report the concern to DOH or the facility's patient safety officer
Physicians have a professional duty to report impaired colleagues through appropriate channels (DOH or facility leadership) to protect patient safety — silence in such cases is itself an ethical violation.
Question 2: Which Abu Dhabi-specific initiative promotes open disclosure of adverse events to patients and families?
- Tasneef Quality Framework
- DOH Open Disclosure Policy (Correct answer)
- Daman Claims Protocol
- UAE Medical Tourism Strategy
Correct answer: DOH Open Disclosure Policy
The DOH Open Disclosure Policy requires healthcare professionals to communicate honestly with patients and families after an adverse event, including what happened, its impact, and steps being taken.
Question 3: According to bioethical principles applied in UAE healthcare, which principle requires providing the best possible care with available resources?
- Non-maleficence
- Justice
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Autonomy
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence — the duty to act in the best interest of the patient and provide effective care — is the principle directly linked to delivering the best possible treatment.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) following a sentinel event in an Abu Dhabi hospital?
- To assign blame to the responsible clinician
- To identify underlying system failures and prevent recurrence (Correct answer)
- To calculate financial liability
- To notify the media
Correct answer: To identify underlying system failures and prevent recurrence
RCA is a structured retrospective analysis used to identify contributing system and process failures after a sentinel event, with the goal of implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
Question 5: Under DOH standards, which patient identifier must always be used when administering medications in Abu Dhabi hospitals?
- Room number alone
- At least two patient identifiers (e.g., full name and date of birth or MRN) (Correct answer)
- Physician name on the order
- Bed number
Correct answer: At least two patient identifiers (e.g., full name and date of birth or MRN)
DOH and JCI standards require verification of at least two unique patient identifiers (such as full name plus date of birth or medical record number) before administering any medication to prevent errors.
Question 6: Which document must a patient sign to authorise a surrogate decision-maker in Abu Dhabi when the patient lacks decision-making capacity?
- Insurance pre-authorisation form
- Power of Attorney for Healthcare or Advance Directive (Correct answer)
- Employment contract
- Emirates ID renewal form
Correct answer: Power of Attorney for Healthcare or Advance Directive
A Healthcare Power of Attorney or Advance Directive designates a surrogate decision-maker and outlines the patient's wishes, and must be signed while the patient retains capacity.
DOH Patient Safety & Ethics 2
A physician in Abu Dhabi discovers a colleague is practising while impaired.
What is the physician's professional and ethical obligation?