Professional Ethics & Legal Standards Flashcards

A health unit coordinator notices a coworker viewing the electronic record of a celebrity patient who is not assigned to their unit. What should the coordinator do?

Answer: Report the activity to the supervisor or privacy officer

Unauthorized access is a HIPAA violation that should be reported through the facility's chain of command.

The ethical principle of nonmaleficence means:

Answer: Do no harm

Nonmaleficence is the duty to avoid causing harm, while beneficence is the duty to do good.

After a patient falls on the unit, an incident report is completed. Which statement about the incident report is correct?

Answer: It should be factual and should not be referenced in the patient's medical record

Incident reports are internal quality documents; they state facts and are not mentioned or filed in the chart.

A coordinator makes an error while writing in a paper patient record. The correct way to fix it is to:

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

A single line keeps the original entry readable, preserving the legal integrity of the record.

A physician calls the unit and begins dictating a medication order to the health unit coordinator. In most facilities, the coordinator should:

Answer: Politely refer the physician to a licensed nurse to take the verbal order

Verbal and telephone orders are usually restricted to licensed personnel, so HUCs should not accept them.

A coordinator posts on social media about an 'interesting case on my unit today' without using the patient's name. Why is this a problem?

Answer: Details can still identify the patient and breach confidentiality

Even without a name, case details, dates, or location can make PHI identifiable and violate privacy policy.

Under EMTALA, a hospital emergency department that participates in Medicare must:

Answer: Provide a medical screening exam to anyone requesting care, regardless of ability to pay

EMTALA requires a medical screening exam and stabilization without regard to insurance or ability to pay.