HUC Professional Ethics & Legal Standards 5

Question 1

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?

Accepted Answer

Report the activity to the supervisor or privacy officer

Answer

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

Question 2

The ethical principle of nonmaleficence means:

Accepted Answer

Do no harm

Answer

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

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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

Answer

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

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

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

Answer

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

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

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

Answer

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

HUC - Health Unit Coordinator Practice Test

HUC - Health Unit Coordinator Practice Test

HUC Professional Ethics & Legal Standards 5