ATI LPN
NCLEX Questions on Legal Aspect of Health Care Questions
Question 1 of 5
What sort of cases do Beauchamp and Childress refer to as 'paradigm' cases for justified breach of confidentiality?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Justified breaches of confidentiality typically involve imminent risks of significant harm to specific individuals.
Question 2 of 5
You have a patient in your clinic who is an elderly woman with multiple medical problems. Her family is extremely grateful for your care and they bring you a meal they cooked at home, a cake, and a scarf. What should you do?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Small gifts of nominal value from patients are ethically acceptable as tokens of gratitude and do not require reporting or refusal.
Question 3 of 5
A 52-year-old Spanish-speaking woman has arrived for the first day of a clinical trial of chemotherapy for breast cancer. You suddenly remember the need for signing a consent form. You ask a medical student to 'get the consent.' He walks up to the patient and says in English, 'Sign this,' and she signs. She completes the trial but her hair falls out and she files suit against you for an improper informed consent. Why will this lawsuit be successful?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Consent must be informed with risks explained in a language the patient understands by someone knowledgeable about the procedure; all these elements were lacking.
Question 4 of 5
Which of the following most accurately describes the ownership of the medical record?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The patient owns the information, while the provider owns the physical or electronic record.
Question 5 of 5
A 72 year old woman was admitted to the Neurological Intensive Care Unit following a cerebral hemorrhage which left her with severe brain damage and ventilator dependent. One year before this event, the patient and her husband had drawn up living wills with an attorney. The patient's living will specified that the patient did not want ventilator support, or other artificial life supports, in the event of a terminal condition or a permanent vegetative state. The patient's husband is her legal next of kin and the person with surrogate decision-making authority. When the living will was discussed with him, he insisted that the patient had not intended for the document to be used in a situation like the present one. By this, the husband apparently meant that although the patient would not be able to recover any meaningful brain function, her condition was not imminently terminal. The husband did not consider his wife to be in a permanent vegetative state. The treatment team allowed a week to pass, with the goal of providing the husband more time to be supported in his grief and to see how ill his wife was. Nevertheless, at the end of this time, the husband was unwilling to withdraw life support measures consistent with the patient's wishes as expressed in her living will. Should the hospital follow the patient's wishes in the living will despite the husband's unwillingness to withdraw life support measures?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A living will is strong evidence of patient wishes, but if the surrogate disagrees, a court order may be needed to enforce it.