Sina Institute of nursing and Allied

Health Sciences
Legal Aspects of Nursing
By:
Group C
Assigned By:
Sir Rizwan Bashir (Post RN,BSN)
 Group Members
• Abdul Haleem
• M. Muqeem khan
• Matiullah
• Janzaib khan
• Junaid khan
• Anwar jan
• Ihsan ullah
• Faraz kharani
1. Describe the four specific areas
of the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act
and their impact on nursing
practice.
2. Describe the laws and strategies
that
protect the nurse from
litigation.
3. Discuss the legal responsibilities
4. Describe the purpose and
essential elements of informed
consent.
5. Discuss the impaired nurse and
available
diversion or peer assistance programs.
6. Recognize the nurse's legal
responsibilities with selected
aspects of nursing practice.
• Define and describe scope of
nursing practice
• Control practice through
licensing

Where can you find our

country
Nurse Practice Act?
• Maintaining competence in
nursing practice
Licensure
Certificatio
n
Accreditati
on
• State-based
Separate license required for each
state
Challenged by changes in health care
delivery
• A voluntary practice validating an
individual has met minimum
standards of competence in a
specialty area
• Conducted by the Saudi
council association
• Internal
Standards Job
description
Education
Expertise
Institutional
policies and
procedures
• External Standards
Nurse practice acts
Professional organizations
Nursing specialty-practice
organizations Federal organizations
and federal guidelines (MOH, Ministry
of Higher Education)
• Informed consent
• Delegation
• Violence, abuse,
neglect
• Controlled
substances
• Impaired nurse
• Death and related
issues
• Important to consider the
problem of illiteracy and other
language barriers
• The consent must be read to the
client or an interpreter
appropriately used to be certain
client understands
• Important to consider the
problem of illiteracy and other
language barriers
• The consent must be read to the
client or an interpreter
appropriately used to be certain
client understands
• Important to consider the
problem of illiteracy and other
language barriers
• The consent must be read to the
client or an interpreter
appropriately used to be certain
client understands
• Important to consider the
problem of illiteracy and other
language barriers
• The consent must be read to the
client or an interpreter
appropriately used to be certain
client understands
• Nurses Role
Client gave consent voluntarily
Signature is authentic
Client appears competent to give
consent
Remind client they have the right to
refuse after signature on form
continues after signing consent
• Important to consider the
problem of illiteracy and other
language barriers
• The consent must be read to the
client or an interpreter
appropriately used to be certain
client understands
• Nurses Role
Client gave consent voluntarily
Signature is authentic
Client appears competent to give
consent
Remind client they have the right to
refuse after signature on form
continues after signing consent
“The transfer of responsibility for the
performance of an activity from one
person to another while retaining
accountability for the outcome.”
(American Nurses Association, 1997)
• Inability to perform essential job
functions
due to
Chemical dependency on drugs
Alcoholism
Mental illness
• Allow persons to specify aspects
of care they wish to receive if
unable to make decisions
• Patient Self-Determination Act
Recognize advance directives
Ask clients if they have advance
directives
Providing educational material
 Do-Not-
Resuscitate
• Order is generally written when
client wishes for no resuscitation
• Values and choices given
highest priority
• DNR explicitly discussed with
client, family, and designated
decision maker, and health care
team
• DNR clearly documented,
reviewed, and
• An act committed in violation of
public
(criminal) law
• Punishable by a fine or
imprisonment
• Does not have to be intended in
order to be a crime
Example: accidentally administering
an additional and lethal dose of a
narcotic to relieve discomfort
• Misconduct or practice that is
below the standard expected of
an ordinary, reasonable, and
prudent person
• Places another person at risk for
harm
• Applies to anyone
• Gross negligence
Extreme lack of knowledge, decision
making, or skill that should have been
known that put others at risk for harm
• Negligence that occurred while the
person was performing as a
professional
Applies to physicians, dentists,
lawyers, and generally includes nurses
• Check and recheck medications-
medication error
• Check side rails before leaving a
client-
client safety
• Do not ignore a clients complaint-
fai/cre to observe and take
appropriate acfion
• Right client-mistaken identity
• Assault
attempt or threat to touch unjustifiably
• Battery
willful touching that may or may not
cause harm
• Assault
attempt or threat to touch unjustifiably
• Battery
willful touching that may or may not
cause harm
• Includes four specific areas
Electronic transfer of information
among organizations
Standardized numbers for
identifying
providers, employers, and health
plans
Security rule
Privacy rule
• Incompetence or gross negligence
• Conviction for practicing without a
license
• Falsification of client's records
• Illegally obtaining, using, or
possessing
controlled substances
• Need to retain professional
boundaries
• Violation of professional ethical
codes
• Breach of confidentiality
• Fraud
• Refusing to care for clients of
specific socioeconomic or
cultural origins
• Nurses expected to analyze
procedures and medications
ordered by the physician
• Seek clarification for
ambiguous or seemingly
erroneous orders
• Categories nurses should
question
Question any order a client
questions
• Categories nurses should question
Question and record verbal orders to
avoid miscommunication
Question any order that is illegible,
unclear, or incomplete
• Provide care within the legal
boundaries
• Nurses need to be familiar with
various jobs
• Care to protect clients from harm
• Anticipate sources for injury
• Educate clients about hazards
• Implement measures to prevent
injury
• Client's need to be assessed and
monitored appropriately
• Communicate with client's with
sincere
concern
• Medical chart is a legal document
• Nurses need to provide
accurate and complete
documentation of the nursing
care provided
• Failure to document can
constitute
negligence
• Insufficient or inaccurate
assessments can hinder proper
• Agency record of an incident or
unusual occurrence (also called
unusual occurrence report)
• Make all the facts available to
agency personnel
• Contribute to statistical data
about
incidents
• Help health personnel prevent
future incidents
• Filed according to agency
policy
• Identification of all witnesses
• Identification of any equipment by
number
and any medication by name and
dosage
• Identification of all witnesses
• Identification of any equipment by
number
and any medication by name and
dosage
• Responsible for own action and
liable for their own acts of
negligence
• Lower standards are not applied to
nursing
students
• Function within scope of
education, job description and
nurse practice act
• Follow procedures and policies
• Ask for additional help or
supervision in
situations they feel inadequately
prepared
• If working as an aide, can only
perform tasks in job description,
not from nursing school