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health law midterm

Terms in this set (98)

modules 1-2
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Which of the following best describes the FDA's authority to regulate tobacco products? pg 15
US supreme court said that they cannot regulate it but then congress amended the relevent statute to delegate additional authority to the FDA
Harris goals for the book
pg 9
stay out of jail

help managers and healthcare professionals learn how to identify potential legal problems that they are likely to encounter

understand how legal rules have changed over time and how they continues to change to promote the underlying goals of an evolving public policy
Which of the following is NOT one of the questions to be addressed under the topic of Medical Indications?
Are there issues of public health and safety that affect treatment decisions?
In addition to beneficience, nonmaleficence, respect for autonomy, and justice, the authors of Clinical Ethics note that some other bioethicists add additional principles that should be considered in clinical ethics. Which of the following is NOT among these mentioned by the authors?
egalitarianism
Which of the following best describes the legal nature of the physician-patient relationship.
It is based on a contract, which may be in writing or implied from the actions of the parties
Which of the following types of cases do federal courts have jurisdiction to hear?
All cases arising under federal statutes
Which of the following statements, if any, is true?
Statutes take precedence over rules of common law
In using the law as a way to solve a problem, which of the following is an example of a regulatory approach?
Licensure of healthcare professionals
Which of the following is NOT true regarding respect for autonomy?
Despite many forces that may obstruct it in practice, modern medical ethics still strives to promote physician paternalism.
With regard to the relationship between law and ethics, which of the following statements, if any, is true?
In some cases, ethical duties require us to do more than what is currently required by law.
What is the doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies?
A person who objects to the action of an agency is required to pursue the agency's own internal process of review before suing the agency in court.
Which of the following is NOT one of the questions to be addressed under the topic of Patient Preferences?
Are there religious issues that might influence clinical decisions?
Which of the following is NOT one of the basic ethical principles mentioned in Chapter 1 of the text?
consequentialism
When resolving moral quandaries of bioethics in specific cases, according to Harris, which of the following best encapsulates the criteria for determining an appropriate ethical solution?
pg 5 our view of what is right or wrong is an expression of our moral philosophy and our beliefs about the proper relationship between society & the individual

Moral philosophy and beliefs about the proper relationship between individual and society.
Which of the following best summarizing the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 ruling regarding the constitutionality of the individual mandate provision in the Affordable Care Act?
The individual mandate is constitutional under Congress's taxing power.

The individual mandate to buy health insurance is not a valid regulation of interstate commerce, but the penalty for failure to do so is valid under Congress' power to tax.
Which of the following best describes the justification of Ravenswood Hospital staff for not providing emergency care to Mr. Sercye when he collapsed outside the doors of the emergency department?
A Ravenswood Hospital policy prohibiting staff from leaving the hospital building, which Harris opines was in violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.
Which of the following is NOT true of ambiguity in statutory language?
None of the other options are correct; they are all true of ambiguity in statutory language.
Which of the following is NOT true of diversity jurisdiction of federal courts?
None of the other options are correct; they are all true of diversity jurisdiction of federal courts.
Which of the following is NOT true regarding the concept of "sanctity" as discussed in the assigned reading from Clinical Ethics?
According to the authors of Clinical Ethics, "sanctity of life" is not compatible with decisions to refrain from medical treatments that prolong life in the particular circumstances.
Which of the following best describes the ethical perspective which would justify a person pulling the lever in version one of the Trolley Experiment?
Utilitarianism (outcome-based morality)
As explained in the Harris textbook, which of the following is NOT true regarding the Buck v. Bell case?
Modern courts still follow Buck v. Bell as precedent in permitting the the government to forcibly sterilize individuals for the good of society.
Which of the following is an example of a utilitarianism-based argument in support of the following statement: The government should assure everyone has access to health care regardless of ability to pay.
"Providing access to healthcare for everyone regardless of ability to pay will lower the disease burden and improve society for everyone."
Which of the following is NOT true regarding the case of Dax Cowart?
After becoming a lecturer on patients' rights, he changed his view and took the position that his medical providers were right to ignore his requests to refuse treatment.
For what purpose is the television show 24 discussed in the assigned content for this Module?
To present a situation where utilitarian and deontological perspectives would arrive at different conclusions regarding whether an action is moral.
What is the first version of the trolley car experiment?
A person pulling a lever to steer a trolley car away from five people tied to the track, but causing it to run over one person.
Which of the following is an example of a utilitarianism-based argument in opposition to the following statement: The government should assure everyone has access to health care regardless of ability to pay.
"Giving health care away to everyone will just encourage people to be irresponsible with their personal finances and personal health."
Which of the following is NOT one of the questions to be addressed under the topic of Quality of Life?
What are the probabilities of success of various treatment options?
According to Clinical Ethics, which of the follow is NOT true regarding conflicts of interest?
Although a potential conflict of interest is not in itself unethical if one arises, the therapeutic relationship itself rarely creates a potential conflict of interest.
Which of the following best describes the ethical perspective which would justify a person not pulling the lever in version one of the Trolley Experiment?
Deontology (rule-based morality)
As discussed in Clincal Ethics, in clinical medicine, in what type of situations is the concept of "best interest" encountered?
In surrogate decisions regarding the care of seriously ill incompetent persons whose prospects for recovery to health are remote.
Which of the following is NOT one of the questions to be addressed under the topic of Contextual Features?
What is the legal and ethical status of suicide?
Which of the following is an example of a deontology-based argument in opposition to the following statement: The government should assure everyone has access to health care regardless of ability to pay.
"It is a fundamental violation of my liberty for the government to take my taxes and use them to benefit someone else."
Which of the following best summarizes the reasoning of Justice Holmes in ruling in the Buck v. Bell case?
It is better for society to prevent some people from having socially unfit offspring than it would be to wait to execute this degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility.
A person doing nothing in version two of the Trolley Experiment is justified by:
deontology
As explained in the Harris textbook, which of the following is true regarding the Buck v. Bell case?
Some authors used this term to assert that physical life must be sustained under any conditions and for as long as possible.

Some authors distinguish quality of life from sancity of life.


A secular counterpart to sanctity is vitalism.
Which of the following is NOT true of the reasoning Justice Holmes employed in ruling in the Buck v. Bell case?
?
modules 3-4
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In the Stuard v. Jorgenson case, the dissenting opinion argued that in medical malpractice cases, courts should apply a "some damage" rule similar to the rule used in what otehr type of cases?
Legal malpractice cases
Which of the following is NOT one of the purposes of pre-trial discovery discussed in the assigned reading:
assuring that lawsuits are pursued all the way through trial and appeal.
At the trial, the jury found in favor of the plaintiff and made the defendant pay $1 million to the plaintiff. Of course, the defendant appealed to the appellate court. On appeal, the defendant made three arguments, which are set forth below. Of the following arguments, which argument, if any, is the least likely to be successful for the defendant on appeal?
The jury decided the facts incorrectly because the defendant was telling the truth about the facts, but the plaintiff was lying about the facts



pg 29
Which of the following best describes the medical error the plaintiffs allege the defendant committed in the Conner v. Hodges case?
Failing to properly ligate the left fallopian tube in performing a tubal ligation.
According to the majority opinion (i.e., not the dissent) in the Stuard v. Jorgenson case, in Idaho a cause of action for medical malpractice not involving a foreign object accrues--and therefore the statute of limitations begins to run--once which of the following has occurred?
once some objectively ascertainable damage to the plaintiff occurs
What is a complaint?
A written statement by the plaintiff of how he or she was harmed by the defendant, including a request for legal relief such as money damages

pg 23
In the Conner v. Hodges (2014) case, which of the following best summarizes the amount of time that lapsed between when when the defendant performed the tubal ligation and when the plaintiffs filed their lawsuit?
A little over four years.
Which of the following is NOT among the points John Roberts made in the assigned video clip from his confirmation hearings?
Individuals who have previously worked as attorneys for the government should not be made justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
According to the majority opinion in the Stuard v. Jorgenson case, what is the objectively ascertainable "some damage" that occurred at the time of the surgery?
An incision was made to access Stuard's spine, healthy tissue was removed, and hardware was placed at the wrong spinal level.

stuards excerpt pg 5
The term motion, is defined as "[a]n application, normally incidental to an action, made to a court or judge for the purpose of obtaining an order or rule directing something to be done in favor of the applicant." Ballentine's Law Dictionary. In other words, a motion is a general term that basically means any request that a party (e.g., plaintiff or defendant) to a lawsuit makes to the court. Which one of the following types of motions is (1) normally filed prior to filing an answer and (2) entails an argument that even if all the allegations in the plaintiff's complaint are true, the plaintiff should not win the case as a matter of law:
motion to dismiss

pg 25
Which of the following is the most accurate statement regarding what occurs during a jury trial:
...
In which one of the following scenarios would a defendant's motion to dismiss be LEAST likely to be granted by the court under Idaho law:
In a medical malpractice case where a plaintiff filed the complaint 18 months after discovering an alleged error that occurred 23 months before the complaint was filed.
When a witness is questioned in person under oath before trial, it is called:
depositions
What is a complaint?
A written statement by the plaintiff of how he or she was harmed by the defendant, including a request for legal relief such as money damages
Which of the following is NOT true of majority and dissenting opinions?
an opinion by an appellate court may only be relied upon as precedent in subsequent cases if the decision was reached unanimously without a dissenting opinion.
According to the majority opinion (i.e., not the dissent) in the Stuard v. Jorgenson case, in Idaho a cause of action for medical malpractice not involving a foreign object accrues--and therefore the statute of limitations begins to run--once which of the following has occurred?
once some objectively ascertainable damage to the plaintiff occurs
Which of the following best summarizing how a majority of the Idaho Supreme Court distinguished the facts of the Conner v. Hodges (2014) case from the Stuard v. Jorgenson (2011) case in applying the statute of limitations?
In Conner, the alleged injury was not capable of being objectively ascertained until the patient became pregnant. In Stuard, the alleged injury was capable of being objectively ascertained before the second injury.
In debates over comprehensive health reform, most proposals for medical malpractice reform focused on what?
ways to make it harder for patients to recover damages and hold providers liable as a means of reducing overall healthcare costs\
pg 251
Which of the following is NOT true regarding the goals of treatment and ethical considerations, as explained in Clinical Ethics?
The general goals of medicine in relation to death focus solely on preventing untimely death, and not in providing relief and support near the time of death.
pg 17
What type of fee structure would an attorney who represents plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases typically use?
A contingency fee where the attorney take a percentage of any award or settlement the plaintiff receives in the case.
As explained in Clinical Ethics, which of the following best describes what the law generally requires in terms of the adequecy of information provided by the physician in obtaining informed consent?
The "reasonable and prudent physician" standard used in early informed consent cases is increasingly being replaced by a standard considering what information an objectively reasonable patient would consider relevant.
As explained in Clinical Ethics, there is wide agreement that all of the following factors be discussed in obtaining informed consent, EXCEPT?
the experience of the physician
Which of the following is NOT a required element of a negligence tort?
a meeting of the minds
With regard to the doctrine of corporate negligence, which of the following statements, if any, is true?
It is based on a breach of the duty that is owed directly from the hospital to a patient.
burdensome
known to cause serious adverse effects
nonburdensome
unlikely to have serious side effects
curative
offering definitive correction of condition
supportive
offering relief of symptoms and slowing the progression of diseases that are currently incurable
Which of the following is an analogy used by people who advocate replacing the current medical malpractice system with a no-fault system of guaranteed compensation for medical injuries?
How a no-fault system would be similar to the current system of workers' compensation for employment-related injuries
Assume that Dr. Susan Jones performed an operation on Henry Smith at Community Hospital, which is owned and operated by a for-profit corporation. Dr. Jones is an independent physician in private practice with privileges to admit patients and perform surgery at Community Hospital. Dr. Jones is not an employee of the hospital, and she has no contract with the hospital. In addition, Smith made his own decision to choose Dr. Jones as his surgeon, before he ever went to the hospital. Unfortunately, Smith died as a result of the operation, and his wife has filed a lawsuit against Community Hospital on the legal theory of corporate negligence. Smith's wife has also sued Dr. Jones for lack of informed consent. In the state in which Smith's wife brought the lawsuit, the court will apply the subjective test of causation in evaluating the claim for lack of informed consent. Under these circumstances, what does the plaintiff have to prove to win on that claim for lack of informed consent?
That the patient would not have undergone the medical procedure if he had been properly informed of the risks.
Which of the following is NOT true regarding the modern trend in quality improvement as it relates to medical malpractice reform?
Most quality improvement experts argue that the malpractice system positively contributes to quality improvement by shaming and blaming individual health care providers into offering the best quality care.
Which of the following best summarizes medical malpractice liability reforms made under the the Affordable Care Act enacted in 2010?
The ACA encourages states to develop alternatives to the current system, and provided federal grants for state demonstration programs to resolve disputes and reduce medical errors.
According to the reading on pages 241-245 of the Harris text regarding Informed Consent, which of the following is NOT one of the factors physicians are generally required to disclose at present in order to obtain informed consent:
potential financial incentives a physician may have for recommending a particular procedure
According to the Harris text, which of the following is true of medical malpractice law:
Its "deterrent effect" is unclear.
In a medical malpractice lawsuit in Idaho, which of the following is true of the pre-litigation panel:
...
The Harris textbook discusses a highly respected study in which the authors concluded that the medical malpractice system was not accomplishing its goals of compensating injured persons and deterring negligent conduct in the future. Which of the following is NOT true regarding this study?
Of the records reviewed in which the researchers determined negligence caused an adverse event, approximately on half of the patients filed a medical malpractice claim.
What type of fee structure would an attorney who represents physicians named in medical malpractice cases typically use?
By billing an hourly rate paid for by the provider's medical malpractice insurer.
According to the Harris textbook, in determining the causation element of a lack of informed consent claim, courts in most states apply which type of test:
...
In a medical malpractice lawsuit in Idaho, which of the following best describes the how a pre-litigation panel's decision relates to subsequent court proceedings in the case?
...
modules 5-6
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Which of the following is NOT true regarding the culture of silence and shame regarding medical errors in the health system?
This culture rewards redefined physicians.
Which of the following is NOT one of the ways to reduce clinical uncertainty as discussed in the assigned reading from Clinical Ethics?
increasing the autonomy of providers to account for geographic practice variations
Which of the following is NOT true regarding the World Health Organization's (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist?
The checklist is intended to be comprehensive, and additions or modifications are not recommended by the WHO.
Which of the following is the best explanation of "deemed" status in relation to hospital accreditation?
A hospital accredited by the Joint Commission is deemed to meet most of the requirements for participating in the Medicare program, thereby avoiding a potentially duplicative survey.
Approximately how what proportion of hospitals participating in the Medicare program are not accredited by the Joint Commission?
20%
According to a 1990 report, the great majority of disciplinary actions taken against individual practitioners by state licensing boards involved which of the following type of misconduct by the practitioner?
improper use of drugs or alcohol
In the Fatal Air Embolism Case-Study, which of the following BEST summarizes the disputed facts regarding the communication between Technician and one or both of the anesthesiologists?
Technician claims she told Dr. Relief that a pressure cuff should not be used on the reinfusion bag; Dr. Relief claims Technician did not say anything to Dr. Relief about the pressure cuff.
Which of the following is NOT true regarding the jury verdict in the Fatal Air Embolism case study presented in this Module?
The jury found that the conduct of all three providers--Ms. Technician, Dr. Relief, and Dr. Primary--was "reckless."
Which of the following best describes why, in the Fatal Air Embolism Case Study, it mattered whether the jury found any of the providers to have been "reckless" in addition to negligent?
A finding of recklessness is required to remove the cap on noneconomic damages.
Which of the following is the best description of "pause points" as discussed in the Module?
The moments in a process where a problem can be identified and addressed before it is a danger.
Harris states that which one of the following is "[p]erhaps the most interesting aspect of the Georgetown College decision"?
the court's reliance, in justifying its conclusion, on society's interest in keeping the patient alive because she had a child who was only seven months old.
According to the assigned reading, which of the following must be completed by a physician?
Physician Ordered Scope of Treatment (POST)
Which of the following best describes the holding reached by the California Court of Appeals in Bouvia v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County?
The court held that the hospital and physicians must remove the NG tube from Ms. Bouvia and had a duty to relieve Ms. Bouvia's pain and suffering while she starved herself to death.
Which of the following is NOT among the circumstances that must be met before an Oregon physician may prescribe a patient a lethal dose of medication under Oregon's "Death with Dignity" Law ?
The patient must receive a psychiatric consultation, regardless of whether the patient has a history of mental illness.
Under which of the following circumstances would a Living Will created under Idaho law using the form presented in this Module go into effect?
If the person who created the living will is unable to communicate because of congnitive disability and is experiencing a low quality of life, but death is not imminent.
Which of the following is NOT true regarding the federal Patient Self-Determination Act, as amended in 1997?
It applies only tol health facilities in states that do not permit medical aid in dying
Which one of the following patients discussed in the "Face Death" video was still alive one year after the treatment decision discussed in the video occurred?
Marthe
In the Georgetown College case, the court characterizes Mrs. Jones' perception of death as what?
an unwanted side effect of a religious scrupl
According to Dr. Judith Nelson in the Frontline "Facing Death" video, how many chronically critically ill people are on a ventilator at any given time and what is the annual cost of providing this care?
Approximately 100,000 at a cost of $20-25 Billion per year.
Which of the following patients in the Frontline "Facing Death" had full communication and decision-making capacity the first time he or she was shown in the video?
Albert
Sets with similar terms