MACE Legal and Ethical Issues 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal law protects the confidentiality of a patient's health information?
- HIPAA (Correct answer)
- OSHA
- ADA
- COBRA
Correct answer: HIPAA
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) establishes national standards to protect individuals' medical records and personal health information.
Question 2: A patient refuses to take their prescribed medication. What is the medication aide's appropriate response?
- Document the refusal and notify the supervising nurse (Correct answer)
- Crush the medication and mix it into food without telling the patient
- Administer the medication anyway since it was ordered by the physician
- Wait 30 minutes and attempt administration again without documenting
Correct answer: Document the refusal and notify the supervising nurse
Patients have the legal right to refuse treatment; the medication aide must document the refusal and report it to the supervising nurse.
Question 3: What is the legal term for performing a healthcare procedure on a patient without their consent?
- Assault and battery (Correct answer)
- Negligence
- Malpractice
- Breach of confidentiality
Correct answer: Assault and battery
Performing a procedure on a patient without consent constitutes assault (the threat) and battery (the unauthorized physical contact) under law.
Question 4: Under HIPAA, which of the following is permitted without separate patient authorization?
- Sharing information with other treating healthcare providers (Correct answer)
- Sharing information with the patient's employer
- Discussing patient details in a public area of the facility
- Releasing records to family members without the patient's consent
Correct answer: Sharing information with other treating healthcare providers
HIPAA permits sharing patient information with other healthcare providers directly involved in that patient's treatment as part of coordinated care.
Question 5: A medication aide suspects that a resident is being physically abused. What is their legal obligation?
- Report the suspicion to the appropriate authority immediately (Correct answer)
- Keep the information confidential unless they are certain abuse has occurred
- Discuss it with coworkers to gather more evidence before acting
- Privately document observations and monitor the situation over time
Correct answer: Report the suspicion to the appropriate authority immediately
Medication aides are mandatory reporters who must immediately report any reasonable suspicion of abuse to a supervisor or the appropriate state agency.
Question 6: Which document allows a competent adult to specify their healthcare wishes in the event they become unable to make decisions?
- Advance directive (Correct answer)
- Informed consent form
- HIPAA authorization
- Do-not-resuscitate order
Correct answer: Advance directive
An advance directive is a legal document completed while a person is competent that specifies their healthcare preferences if they later become incapacitated.
Question 7: Which action by a medication aide could constitute negligence?
- Administering medication without verifying the patient's identity (Correct answer)
- Documenting medication immediately after administration
- Reporting a medication error promptly to the nurse
- Asking the patient about allergies before giving a new medication
Correct answer: Administering medication without verifying the patient's identity
Failing to verify patient identity before medication administration is a breach of the standard of care that constitutes negligence and endangers patient safety.
MACE Legal and Ethical Issues 1
Which federal law protects the confidentiality of a patient's health information?