health law and ethcs

1. Health Law &
Ethics
Walid A. Osman
BSN, MSHM

2. Workplace Law
& Ethics

3. Professionalism
in the Workplace
Avoid discrimination.
 People working in the healthcare field often suffer
from many of the same problems that affect their
patients. For example, overweight nurses, medical
assistants, and other healthcare professionals may
experience discriminatory behavior due to their
weight.
 As simple as this sounds, always treat a coworker
as you wish to be treated.

4. Con…
Do not violate a patient's privacy.
 Opening a patient’s medical file should always be on
a “need to know” basis. Any other reason may
constitute an illegal action.
 A co-worker’s personnel evaluations and salary
levels are privileged information.
 Viewing personnel records without a “need to
know” could result in dismissal from a job.

5. Con…
Respect cultural differences.
 Background and experience heavily influence
personal beliefs.
 Stereotyping and bias are common in healthcare
setting.
 Do not judge a person.
 Different cultures have their own practices for personal
hygiene.
 It is wise to keep in mind how you would wish to be
treated if you were a patient in another country
without the use of the language.

6. Con…
Respect religious practices.
 It is never appropriate to judge, either with verbal
or nonverbal criticism, another person’s religious
customs and beliefs. An exception occurs when
there is evidence of abuse as a result of a religious
practice.
 Never appropriate to judge another person's
customs or beliefs.
 Patient autonomy is always an important
consideration.

7. Effective Hiring Practices
Develop clear policies on hiring, discipline, and
termination of employees.
Use two-tier screening process.
 Have candidates interviewed both by healthcare
professionals who will supervise or work with the
new employee and by trained human resource or
personnel department employees.
Provide job descriptions.

8. Con…
Use a progressive disciplinary process and
document all disciplinary procedures.
Carefully assess the applicant’s skill level by
having him or her perform some of the position
requirements (i.e., drawing blood samples,
teaching, performing surgical setups).
Provide in-service training to supervisors on
how to conduct job interviews.
Be familiar with legal and illegal interview
questions.

9. Legal/Illegal Interview Questions
Age.
 Legal to ask applicants if they are between the ages
of 17 and 70, but not to ask their specific age. If their
age falls outside these boundaries, then it is legal to
ask their birth date.
Birthplace.
 Legal, but inadvisable to ask where the applicants,
their parents, spouse, or children were born. It is
illegal to ask about their national heritage or
nationality or that of their spouse.

10. Con…
Address.
 Legal to ask, along with how long the applicant has
lived there.
Married.
 Legal to ask, but inadvisable.
Children.
 Illegal to ask. It is also illegal to ask any questions
relating to childcare arrangements.

11. Con…
Height and weight.
 Illegal to ask unless it relates to the job
requirements.
Race or color.
 Illegal to ask.
Religion or creed.
 Illegal to ask, but it is legal to ask if working on a
particular day, such as a Saturday or Sunday, would
interfere with applicant’s religious practices.

12. Con…
Been arrested.
 Illegal to ask because an arrest does not indicate
guilt. It is legal to ask if the applicant has ever been
convicted of a crime or have any pending felony
charges. For example, “Have you been convicted
within the past year on drug-related charges?”
Citizenship.
 Legal to ask, “Are you a citizen of the United States?”

13. Con…
Handicaps.
 Illegal to ask if an applicant has a handicap or a
disease. It is legal to ask if the applicant has any
physical impairment that would affect his or her
ability to do the job.
Organizations.
 Legal to ask applicants if they belong to any
organizations. Illegal to ask about membership in
any specific organization or to require applicants to
list the organizations to which they belong.

14. Con…
Languages.
 Legal to ask what languages a person can speak or
write. However, it can be perceived as
discriminatory and a method to determine a
person’s national origin.
Military experience.
 Legal to ask if the person has been a member of the
armed forces, type of training, and when
discharged. Illegal to ask what type of discharge
was received (honorable, dishonorable, medical,
etc.)