1

ON MEDICAL LAW

1 What is it so important for health care professionals to understand the principles of medical law
and ethics? How will a solid understanding of legal and ethical principles be important in your
own health care career? Provide at least two specific examples.

Your response should be at least 150 words in length

Answer to Question 1:

Although it was known that Iatrogenic harm results in casualties, the fact that Iatrogenic
harm is among the top four or five killers in the developed world has been found by medical
research only in the last decade. (Merry, Walton & Runciman, 2012, pp1)1. Iatrogenic Harm is
defined as the avoidable harm caused to a patient by the process of healthcare itself and not by
any injury or passively lying disease. Therefore, it is vital for health care professionals to have a
thorough understanding of Medical Law and Ethics so that they can operate at their maximum
professional efficiency levels and discharge their duties with the courtesy, respect and empathy
that patients are surely eligible to.

However, given that the society we live in is highly litigious, a health care professional who is
not very sure about the fundamentals of Medical Law and Ethics will think a dozen times before
doing anything or will seek the advice of colleagues, etc. all which is bound to delay the
professional in doing his/her duties. Consequently, the health care professional will not be able to
earn a good name for competency which is important for his/her career development, down the
line.

Finally, having the basics of Medical Law and Ethics clear will also help todays health care
professional in coping with the following three changes seen in the healthcare Industry today.

1. Todays patients are not the ignorant human beings they once were. For better or worse, todays
health care consumers are privy to a whole branch of information on their medical ailments.
Knowing Medical Law and Ethics will help a Health care Professional to know the rights,
responsibilities and concerns of Health Care Consumers.

Example:01

An example here is that a patient may ask his physician about his religious beliefs and justify
himself by saying that as he will avail of an operation, he will be more comfortable with a
physician who is of his own religious faith. A health care consumer has no business in even
asking for this information and the HCP can directly say so to the patient. There is no medical
1 Merry, A. P., Walton, M. P., & Runciman, B. P. (2012). Safety and Ethics in
Healthcare. Abingdon, GB: Ashgate. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
 2
ON MEDICAL LAW
law under which the patient can bring charges on this ground. This will be known to the Health
care practitioner who knows his Medical Law and therefore can reply immediately to his patient

2. The legal and ethical issues facing society, patients, and health care practitioners in todays
globalized and high-technology world. As in example 01 above, there is literally no end to the
questions which a health care practitioner may face. Thoroughness in Law and Ethics will make
the practitioner confident to face any situation.

Example: 02

A divorced mother who had a surrogate baby meets the practitioner and asks him about the
remaining embryos the hospital has possession of. She says that she has separated with her
husband and therefore wishes to take back the embryos which the originally come from her. The
practitioner expresses his inability to do so as there is no hard and fast rule in this regard. He
refuses to hand over the embryos to the woman and when she threatens a law suit, he sticks to his
original decision and says that at the best he can give her a refusal in writing duly vetted by the
legal department of the organization. He will be perfectly in the right if he does so since the
circumstances is no longer that of a medical case. Therefore, who will the embryos belong to is a
matter for the courts to solve.

3. The rising costs of health care also play a large role in the laws and Medical Ethics, which HCPs
should be aware of.

These are the reasons why a health care professional should be knowledgeable as regards
Medical Law and Medical Ethics.

**********

2.What are the skills and personal characteristics most commonly associated with successful
careers in the medical professions? Do you feel that you have these skills and characteristics?
Why or why not?

Your response should be at least 150 words in length.

Answer to Question #02.

Apart from professional knowledge, personal characteristics and skills that are usually seen to be
possessed by successful health service practitioners are the three Cs, which is a sort of
mnemonic. The three Cs stand for three personal characteristics which are Courtesy,
 3
ON MEDICAL LAW
Compassion and Common Sense, which are said to be common characteristics of successful
Health Service Practitioners.

A) Courtesy: This is the sincere willingness to help the health service consumer as is evident from
the communication of the Practitioner. Let us assume that the practitioner got out of the wrong
side of the bed on the day and his morning was full of frustrations. However, when he meets his
first patient, the horrible morning is a closed and forgotten chapter. The practitioner
communicates his eagerness to help the patient with his manner of greeting. He listens without
interrupting, gives the medical advice and conveys his sincerity via his way of communication.

B) Compassion: Compassion is empathy. Empathy is what you can feel when you think of you
being in the other persons shoes. It is opposite from sympathy which is being sorry for the other
person. As in Courtesy empathy too comes straight from the heart and the recipient can easily
judge the sincerity of your empathy.

C) Common Sense: Common Sense is the output which you emanate on being faced with an input
so that your interests are served the best. By interests here selfish interests are not meant, rather
the common interests of everyone is meant. The word Common here means what most people
but there are some people who do the opposite.

The Health Service Practitioner deals with human life. He is the person who takes the decision to
go to port or starboard for that fraction of a degree, which can mean the difference between life
and death. Therefore, his willingness to take action commands respect. All good practitioners
command respect and they do so by fine tuning their courtesy, compassion and common-sense
throughout life. Experience plays the ultimate role. A good HSP will be someone whose word
will carry weight not only in medical matters but also in other important matters. Therefore, a
good medical practitioner continues to get better with experience.

Thus, individuals who have the gift of the three Cs can be very good health practitioners and
they must always seek to improve with experience.

Here are some other soft skills which can also play a role but albeit a secondary role.The soft
skills again can be divided into people skills and technical skills. These are as under.

People Skills.

1. Ability to make someone comfortable

2. Communication skills and knowing when to listen, speak or write.
3. Ability to work as a team member.
4. Ability to earn someones trust.
5. Tact and Diplomacy
6. Ability to concentrate of the present.
7. Time Management.
8. Mastery over Ego.
 4
ON MEDICAL LAW
Technical Skills.

1. Computer Proficiency.
2. Proficiency in English
3. Proficiency in Science, Mathematics and Statistics.
4. Ability of precise documentation
5. Willingness to learn new skills and theories.
6. Ability to work with your own hands, if situations ask for the same.
7. Critical or Lateral thinking ability.2
**************

2 What are moral values, and how are moral values different from laws and ethics? How
are moral values related to laws and ethics?
Your response should be at least 150 words in length.

Moral values are standards of behavior that is passed down to us by heredity, formed by our
interaction with family, community, neighborhood and culture. We rely upon moral values to
build our personal code of ethics, and we follow this personal ethical code as a sort of manual of
what to do and what not to do in our interactions with other members of society.

Laws are those standards of behavior which have to be followed and are implemented by law
implementing agencies like the police. Ethics are the behavioral standards that is not illegal if not
carried out but society, in large, expects the same to be dome. If an action as prescribed by a law
is not carried out then the person at fault has broken the law i.e. committed a misdemeanor or a
felony. He or she can be arrested and punished as per what is prescribed for the breaking of that
law, by the police and our justice system. In the case of an unethical action, the same will not be
an illegal behavior but other members of the society will have the right to protest to the offender.
Moral values if broken will neither be illegal nor be socially provocative. However, it will break
your ethical code and will lead to lack of comfort in our relations with the person in the future.
This is how moral values, ethics and laws differ from each other.

Yet, what is common between all the three is the idea that the action should not be done, i.e. the
basic rightness or wrongness of the action. Moral values, ethics and laws are all related to each
other in this manner.

********************

2 Judson, K. Harrison, C. Hicks, S. (2006) Law and Ethics for Medical Careers. New
York: McGraw Hill
 5
ON MEDICAL LAW
4. Summarize the key principles of ethics for health care professionals. Provide at least one
example for each of these principles, explaining why it is so important in health care today.
Your response should be at least 150 words in length.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has highlighted the following ethical principles of
Physicians today. These are not laws but their violation means that you stand apart from the
AMA in the principle/s of conduct it espouses.

The Principles of Ethics3 are

i. A physician shall be dedicated to providing competent medical care, with compassion

and respect for human dignity and right.

ii. A physician shall uphold the standards of professionalism, be honest in all professional
interactions, and strive to report physicians deficient in character or competence, or who
engage in fraud or deception, to appropriate entities.
iii. A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in
those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient.

iv. A physician shall respect the rights of patients, colleagues, and other health professionals
and shall safeguard patient confidences and privacy within the constraints of the law.

v. A physician shall continue to study, apply, and advance scientific knowledge, maintain
commitment to medical education, make relevant information available to patients,
colleagues, and the public, obtain consultation, and use the talents of other health
professionals when indicated.

vi. A physician shall, in the provision of appropriate patient care, except in emergencies, be
free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to
provide care.

vii. A physician shall recognize a responsibility to participate in activities contributing to the

improvement of the community and the betterment of public health.

viii. A physician shall, while caring for a patient, regard responsibility to the patient as
paramount.

ix. A physician shall support access to medical care for all people.

3 American Medical Association ( June 2001). Principles of Medical Ethics Retrieved

fromhttp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-
ethics/principles-medical-ethics.page
 6
ON MEDICAL LAW
The examples of the Nine Ethical Principles as to their importance follow. The principles are
easy to follow and do not require explanations.

(i)This principle does not require explanation. An example is the experiments carried out at
Auschwitz Concentration Camp by force, on Jewish healthy subjects by Dr. Josef Mengele.
(ii) Without this ethical principle, conflict of interests will tempt physicians. While developing
new drugs, physicians taking money and falsifying results or suppressing harmful side effects, at
the behest of pharmaceutical companies is an example.
(iii) Physicians experimenting in Eugenics beyond the level allowed by the law.
(iv)A physician revealing information about ailments of celebrities to the media for money and
thereby violating the trust of the patient is an example.
(V) An example can be a physician who has made a miracle drug discovery but does not publish
the details in journals and continues to use the new drug only to cure his own patients.
(VI) This is an extension of the right to work freely in the case of physicians.
(VII) Physicians shall be at the beck and call of governments in case of any epidemic, to inform
the people about what should be done and what should not be done, to avoid the propagation of
the disease.
(VIII) The example of the police being unable to question /interrogate a criminal, caught but
badly hurt, unless his physician gives permission.
(IX) A physician not prescribing antibiotics when they are in short supply to patients of other
religious faiths than his is an example of the violation of this ethical principle.

****************
 7
ON MEDICAL LAW