Ethical & Legal Issues Flashcards
7 cards from real AAC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ethical & Legal Issues flashcards as text
A care facility staff member posts a photo of a resident with Alzheimer's on social media without consent. This violates which legal protection?
Answer: HIPAA privacy regulations
Posting identifiable resident information without consent violates HIPAA privacy regulations protecting personal health information.
What is the primary purpose of a guardianship order in the context of Alzheimer's care?
Answer: To grant a court-appointed person legal authority to make decisions for an incapacitated individual
Guardianship is a court-ordered legal arrangement giving a guardian authority over personal and/or financial decisions for an incapacitated person.
When a person with advanced Alzheimer's has no advance directive and no family, who typically makes medical decisions?
Answer: The state-appointed public guardian or ethics committee
In the absence of an advance directive or family surrogate, a public guardian or institutional ethics committee may be appointed by the court.
An adult child tells care staff not to tell their parent with Alzheimer's about a terminal cancer diagnosis. What ethical concern does this raise?
Answer: Autonomy, because the person may still have a right to know their diagnosis
Even with cognitive impairment, the person's autonomy and right to information should be assessed based on their current decision-making capacity.
Which scenario best illustrates the ethical principle of non-maleficence in Alzheimer's care?
Answer: Avoiding interventions that cause pain or distress with no clinical benefit
Non-maleficence means 'do no harm,' which includes avoiding burdensome treatments that offer no meaningful benefit.
A care home uses physical restraints on a resident with Alzheimer's who wanders, without a physician's order or documented clinical justification. This practice violates:
Answer: OBRA 1987 nursing home reform regulations
OBRA 1987 mandates that restraint use in nursing facilities requires physician orders, clinical justification, and the least-restrictive approach.
A healthcare proxy is making decisions that appear to conflict with what the person with Alzheimer's previously expressed when competent. The care team should:
Answer: Review any documented advance directives and facilitate an ethics consultation
When proxy decisions conflict with prior expressed wishes, reviewing advance directives and engaging an ethics committee ensures decisions align with the person's values.