Legal and Ethics Flashcards

Which document grants a specific individual authority to make medical decisions on behalf of an incapacitated patient?

Answer: Durable power of attorney for healthcare

A durable power of attorney for healthcare designates an agent to make medical decisions when the patient cannot do so.

Which ethical principle requires a phlebotomist to act in the patient's best interest?

Answer: Beneficence

Beneficence is the ethical obligation to promote the well-being and best interests of the patient.

A phlebotomist overhears a coworker discussing a patient's HIV-positive status loudly in the hallway. This is a violation of:

Answer: HIPAA Privacy Rule

Discussing a patient's protected health information in a public area violates the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

In workplace drug testing phlebotomy, the collector must verify the specimen temperature within how many minutes of collection?

Answer: 4 minutes

Federal workplace drug testing guidelines (DOT) require temperature verification within 4 minutes to detect specimen tampering.

A phlebotomist who repeatedly accepts gifts from patients in exchange for faster service may be violating:

Answer: Professional ethics and institutional conflict-of-interest policies

Accepting gifts that influence service delivery violates professional ethical codes and most institutional conflict-of-interest policies.

What is 'implied consent' in phlebotomy practice?

Answer: Consent inferred from a patient's actions, such as rolling up a sleeve and extending an arm

Implied consent is inferred from a patient's cooperative actions that indicate agreement to the procedure.

Which of the following is NOT typically included in a patient's Bill of Rights?

Answer: The right to know the phlebotomist's personal home address

Patients have rights to privacy, information, and refusal of treatment, but not to staff members' personal information.