MDA 111 - Laws and Ethics for Health Professionals

2 credit hours - Two hours weekly; one term.
Formerly MDA 111 - Introduction to Allied Health and Medical Ethics

Learn the legal and ethical responsibilities of the health care worker, including laws, regulations and industry standards. Explore the principles of moral, bioethical and health etiquette as they apply to current health care delivery, such as stem cell research, refusal of treatment, living wills and right to die issues.

Location(s) Typically Offered: Online (OL)

Term(s) Typically Offered: All terms

Course Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Discuss the foundations of Law and Ethics and applicability to health care providers
- Explain the applications of law and ethics in healthcare, such as: professional code of ethics, bioethics, and the role and purpose of ethics committees
- Distinguish among law, ethics, bioethics, etiquette, and protocol
- Define moral values, and explain how they relate to law, ethics and etiquette, such as: refusal of treatment, experimental treatments, emancipated minors, living wills and medical durable power of attorney
Describe current legal issues for health care providers
- Discuss the doctrine of respondent superior related to institutions, organizations, or sole practitioners
- Define telemedicine, and discuss its role in today’s health care environment and cost utilization, such as telephonic advice, and the increasing use of long-distance physicians
- Explain the purpose of quality improvement and risk management within a health care facility or organization
Define the law and court systems in the United States
- Explain the various levels of federal and state courts and the jurisdiction of each
- Differentiate between criminal law and civil law and the required elements for each, such as fraud, malpractice, intentional and unintentional torts, and malfeasance.
- Explain the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor
Differentiate between licensure and certification
- Explain the purpose of the medical practice acts pertaining to physician and specialty practice, and the relationship to standards of care
- Discuss the purpose of medical boards as related to standards of care for patients and guidelines for current practice and legal parameters for practice
- Cite reasons for which a physician or other licensed health care provider may lose his or her license, such as: malpractice, and intentional torts
- Define types of professions that require licensure, such as: physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and radiology technicians
- Define types of professions that require certification, such as medical assisting, phlebotomy, nursing assistant, and patient care technician.
Discuss the fundamental concepts of contracts
- List and briefly describe the four essential elements of a contract: 1) Agreement; 2) Consideration; 3) Legal subject matter, and; 4) Contractual capacity
- Explain the difference between implied contract and expressed contract in the inpatient, and ambulatory settings
- State the specific required elements for physician termination of a contract with a patient, such as: failure to pay, failure to keep scheduled appointments, failure to comply with treatment plan, and patient seeks care from another physician
Explain the legal and ethical issues of death and dying
- Discuss laws and specific terms relating to death, such as: Uniform Determination of Death Act, brain death, comatose, and persistent vegetative state.
- Construct federal and state legislative benchmarks protecting the rights of the terminally ill, such as: Voluntary euthanasia, choices in dying, Patient’s Bill of Rights, The Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill, and precedence.