MA 112 - Medical Law and Ethics

Credit Hours: 3

This course prepares students for employment in a variety of medical and healthcare settings by providing a foundation for allied health careers by building a professional vocabulary of medico-legal terms and developing an understanding of medical law and ethics for healthcare professionals, including healthcare and cultural competency in terms of literacy, equity, disparity and the role of the patient navigator, while introducing them to applied ethics theories such as utilitarianism, deontological (duty-based) ethics and virtue-based ethics, decision-making models and processes, managed care objectives and the regulatory environment governing healthcare delivery in the contemporary patient-centered home model (PCHM). These include the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and other laws pertaining to the medical workplace, including medical contracts, tort law, professional liability and medical malpractice.

Case studies and video presentations are used to enhance course discussions and illustrate 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, as well as the roles 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:

Understand 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 personal and professional ethics and the potential effects of personal morals on professional performance
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
Understand the provider role in terms of Standard of Care
Identify licensure and certification as they apply to healthcare providers
Understand the compliance reporting process regarding public health statutes, including communicable diseases, wounds of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation
Complete an incident report related to an error in patient care
Identify the appropriate U.S. Department of Health and Human Services office accountable for the reporting illegal activities following the protocols established for healthcare settings
Identify the standards outlined in the Patient Care Partnership
Identify the purpose of medical malpractice insurance
Identify Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA)
Identify Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
Identify Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
Identify legal and illegal interview questions
Identify the components of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) regarding privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI) and release of information
Understand the basic concepts of the theories founded by Maslow, Erikson and Kübler-Ross
Understand Advance Directives in terms of the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991
Identify the role of a patient navigator
Use critical thinking skills to analyze and rationally evaluate moral claims to construct reasonable ethical positions regarding contemporary bioethical issues and defend them in writing using evidence-based arguments
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 professional response(s) to controversial bioethical issues and their impact on the contemporary healthcare environment, the roles of various healthcare professionals and patients

Prerequisites: Pre-requisite: Completion of all developmental English
F/S (N)

This course is required for the Medical Assisting AAS Degree and 100% of the Psychomotor and Affective competencies need to be passed.

Reminder: To be eligible for an Associate in Applied Science degree in Medical Assisting, students must attain a C average or better in all MA courses.

Print this Page