Chapter 4: Health Law & Ethics
Christine Malone, EdD
Healthcare professionals have a duty to uphold laws and practice within ethical guidelines. Patients’ rights and safety must be protected by all healthcare professionals, both those in clinical roles and those in non-clinical roles.
It is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals to maintain professional and appropriate boundaries with patients. This includes remaining formal and professional with all patients while in the healthcare setting. Many healthcare organizations prohibit employees from engaging in personal relationships with patients. Patients should feel they can trust healthcare professionals and be shown respect when they are in for care.
Healthcare professionals must maintain PHI. This is not only the law under HIPAA, it is an ethical issue as well. There may be times when this is difficult to do. As an example, if a patient’s spouse calls and asks questions about their spouse’s condition or treatment, that information may not be disclosed. This may cause the patient’s spouse to become frustrated or even angry, but healthcare professionals must follow the law.
Healthcare professionals are considered mandatory reporters. This means, under law, healthcare professionals must report certain conditions. Examples include child abuse, elder abuse, and neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Healthcare professionals do not need to obtain consent from the patient, caregiver, parent, or guardian to report these conditions. If a healthcare professional neglects to report these conditions, that professional may be held liable if the patient suffers an outcome that could have been avoided had the condition been reported. An example of this would be a child who is a victim of abuse is seen in a medical facility. The healthcare professional does not report the suspected abuse. The child is later found to be further harmed and it is proven that, had the condition been reported, that additional harm would have been avoided. It is important to know that healthcare professionals may not be sued for reporting suspected abuse. In other words, if a healthcare professional reports suspected child abuse and investigation by authorities finds that no abuse occurred, the child’s parent/guardian may not sue the healthcare professional.
Certain medical conditions are also part of mandatory reporting. In the State of Washington, this list is found on the Department of Health website under reportable conditions. These conditions are mandatory for reporting because they may present a public health hazard. This list is updated as needed as new conditions and diseases present themselves. Because healthcare professionals are mandatory reporters, any employee in a medical facility has the legal duty to report abuse or suspected abuse.
As written above under the PSQIA, healthcare professionals must report any activity they believe may result in poor outcomes for their patients. Examples include a med