MA 112 - Medical Law and Ethics

Case studies and video presentations will be used to enhance classroom dialogs on applied ethics theories such as utilitarianism, deontological (duty-based) ethics and virtue-based ethics. Students will explain the relationship between ethics and morality as they relate to social responsibility, demonstrating appropriate responses to controversial bioethical issues and their effect on the contemporary healthcare environment and the roles of various healthcare professionals in an argumentative research paper at the end of the semester.

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

• Explain human value development, the decision-making process, and the foundation of the U.S. legal system
• Define medical and legal terms related to the practice of medical assisting and other allied health professions
• Compare criminal law and civil law as they apply to the practicing medical assistant or other allied health professional
• Identify the differences between personal and professional ethics and develop a plan for separation of personal and professional ethics, recognizing the impact personal ethics and morals have on the delivery of healthcare and how it affects professional performance
• Facilitate referrals to community resources in the role of Patient Navigator
• Locate the legal Scope of Practice for Medical Assistants practicing in a New York State by examining the Utilization of Medical Assistants statement published by the NYS Office of Professions and differentiate between Scope of Practice and Standard of Care for Medical Assistants
• Compare and contrast the roles of Providers and Medical Assistants in terms of Standard of Care
• Describe the process in Compliance Reporting for Incident Reports
• Complete an Incident Report related to an error in patient care
• Discuss the similarities and differences among licensure, certification, and registration as they apply to allied health professionals
• Summarize and apply the Patient Bill of Rights as it relates to choice of treatment, consent for treatment and refusal of treatment and explain how one would demonstrate sensitivity to patient rights in each instance
• Compare and contrast among liability, malpractice and personal injury insurance
• Describe compliance with public health statutes regarding communicable diseases, wounds of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation
• Identify Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act
• List and discuss legal and illegal applicant interview questions
• Describe Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
• Discuss the components of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) and explain how Protected Health Information (PHI) and the integrity of the medical record is maintained
• Explain how the integrity of the medical record is maintained and HIPAA rules are applied with regard to Privacy and the Release of Information
• Describe the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 in terms of health coverage and employment
• Discuss the theories of Maslow, Erikson and Kübler-Ross
• Compare and contrast Advance Directives in terms of the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991
• Explain the relationship between ethics and morality as they relate to social responsibility and the applied ethics theories of utilitarianism, deontological (duty-based) ethics and virtue-based ethics
• Demonstrate appropriate response(s) to controversial bioethical issues and their effect on the contemporary healthcare environment