EMT Legal and Ethical Issues Flashcards

What legal doctrine allows an EMT to treat an unconscious patient without explicit consent?

Answer: Implied consent

Implied consent assumes that an unconscious or incapacitated patient would consent to life-saving treatment if they were able to do so.

A competent adult patient has the right to:

Answer: Refuse medical treatment

Competent adults have the legal right to refuse any medical treatment, including transport, even if that refusal may harm them.

A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order instructs EMTs to:

Answer: Withhold resuscitative measures as specified

A valid DNR directs EMS providers to withhold the specific resuscitative interventions (such as CPR) listed in the order.

The term for unauthorized touching of a patient without consent is:

Answer: Battery

Battery is the unlawful physical contact with another person without consent, even if no harm results.

Abandonment in EMS occurs when:

Answer: An EMT discontinues care without transferring to an equal or higher level provider

Abandonment is the termination of the EMT-patient relationship without ensuring that care is continued by a provider of equal or greater competency.

Which of the following best defines negligence in EMS?

Answer: Failure to provide the standard of care that results in patient harm

Negligence requires four elements: duty to act, breach of that duty, causation, and damages (patient harm).