Assessing Employees’ Understanding of Liability Protections for Physicians and Facility A case of Three Mountains Regional Hospital Keri King Deliverable 2 Physician Liability Protection Question 1 In case no fee is charged, does the responsibility of the malpractice carrier change? In the event a fee is not charged, the responsibility of the malpractice carrier does not change. The reason is that the practitioner would be deemed to have executed the procedure in question. In the context, the expectation would be that the physician endeavors to meet the highest standards of care. If the responsibility was to change, however, the notion would be that the practitioner is motivated by pay to adhere to practice guidelines, which should not be the case. 2 Physician Liability Protection Question 2 Do Good Samaritan laws present an effect of a physician’s protection from legal action? Good Samaritan laws have an effect of protection of healthcare professionals from legal actions in certain specific circumstances. One such circumstance is during provision of care in emergency circumstances. In legal context, emergency situations may involve the element of confusion and the physician may, therefore, engage in a malpractice against their wish (Bertoli & Grembi, 2018). The laws mentioned previously, however, do not offer protection to physicians in all other circumstances of offering care and physicians should, therefore, exercise caution. 3 Physician Liability Protection Question 3 What is the nature of liability incurred by a physician as a result of diagnosing a patient and recommending treatment without usual diagnostic tests? Diagnosing a patient without a usual test amounts to neglect of the duty of care to decide the treatment to give to a sufferer. The reason is that a range of ailments can feature similar symptoms and would, therefore, be inappropriate for a medic to settle on treatment without confirmed laboratory results. In like manner, the physician in question would also be liable for breaching the duty of care in administration of treatment. The breach of duties would grant a patient the right of action for negligence. 4 Physician Liability Protection Question 4 In case treatment will be unavailable owing to the patient being uninsured, what would be the use of diagnostic testing? Usually, treatment is not available to patients that are not insured. In the context, however, diagnostic tests may still be available to the patients despite the absence of insurance, the rationale being that test results may be applied for treatment of the patient in the facility if payment is availed (Schneider, 2017). In a similar manner, the results may be used in another medical facility where a client could be having a cover. In both cases, prior testing saves a client from potential danger of escalation of their problem without knowledge of the disorder they are suffering from. 5 Physician Liability Pr ...

1. Assessing Employees’ Understanding of Liability Protections
for Physicians and Facility
A case of Three Mountains Regional Hospital
Keri King
Deliverable 2
Physician Liability Protection Question 1
In case no fee is charged, does the responsibility of the
malpractice carrier change?
In the event a fee is not charged, the responsibility of the
malpractice carrier does not change. The reason is that the
practitioner would be deemed to have executed the procedure in
question. In the context, the expectation would be that the
physician endeavors to meet the highest standards of care. If the
responsibility was to change, however, the notion would be that
the practitioner is motivated by pay to adhere to practice

2. guidelines, which should not be the case.
2
Physician Liability Protection Question 2
Do Good Samaritan laws present an effect of a physician’s
protection from legal action?
Good Samaritan laws have an effect of protection of healthcare
professionals from legal actions in certain specific
circumstances. One such circumstance is during provision of
care in emergency circumstances. In legal context, emergency
situations may involve the element of confusion and the
physician may, therefore, engage in a malpractice against their
wish (Bertoli & Grembi, 2018). The laws mentioned previously,
however, do not offer protection to physicians in all other
circumstances of offering care and physicians should, therefore,
exercise caution.
3
Physician Liability Protection Question 3
What is the nature of liability incurred by a physician as a result
of diagnosing a patient and recommending treatment without
usual diagnostic tests?

3. Diagnosing a patient without a usual test amounts to neglect of
the duty of care to decide the treatment to give to a sufferer.
The reason is that a range of ailments can feature similar
symptoms and would, therefore, be inappropriate for a medic to
settle on treatment without confirmed laboratory results. In like
manner, the physician in question would also be liable for
breaching the duty of care in administration of treatment. The
breach of duties would grant a patient the right of action for
negligence.
4
Physician Liability Protection Question 4
In case treatment will be unavailable owing to the patient being
uninsured, what would be the use of diagnostic testing?
Usually, treatment is not available to patients that are not
insured. In the context, however, diagnostic tests may still be
available to the patients despite the absence of insurance, the
rationale being that test results may be applied for treatment of
the patient in the facility if payment is availed (Schneider,
2017). In a similar manner, the results may be used in another
medical facility where a client could be having a cover. In both
cases, prior testing saves a client from potential danger of
escalation of their problem without knowledge of the disorder
they are suffering from.

4. 5
Physician Liability Protection Question 5
Can you offer professional courtesy to fellow healthcare
providers without the implication of legal trouble?
Professional courtesy tends to be legal only when it is offered
to some specific group of people. The implication, therefore, is
that the practice may raise serious legal issues, particularly
when the insurance is billed after co-pays have been waived
(Fanaroff, 2019). To avoid the legal implications, a practitioner
that offers professional courtesy should seek a written policy
that has been reviewed by qualified legal counsel.
6
Physician Liability Protection Question 6
In the event of settlement of a malpractice claim in exchange
for dismissal from a lawsuit, would the resulting payment be
reported to the data bank?
The resulting payment should be reported to the National
Practitioner Data Bank despite the settlement and dismissal. The
position is informed by the reason for formation of the data
bank. As explanation, the NPDB seeks to restrict the movement
of incompetent practitioners from one state to the other, in the

5. course of practice, without being noticed. The rationale,
therefore, is that any cases of incompetence should be reported
to the relevant authorities to help in tracking progress of the
practitioner in question.
7
Physician Liability Protection Question 7
When serving in the capacity of a pediatrician, would you be
obligated to provide a notice of privacy practices to the child?
The law provides that a notice of privacy practices be availed to
a patient whether they are adults of children. In case of the
latter, the notice is provided to a personal representative such as
a parent. The provision of the law would, however, not apply to
minors that have no personal representatives, where
acknowledgment of the notice emanates from the minors. The
duty of the practitioner in the context would be establishing
whether the child has a personal representative or not for
appropriate course of action.
8
Physician Liability Protection Question 8
In case of coverage, do you retain consent to settle a
malpractice suit?

6. It is worth noting that a malpractice suit is a matter of
livelihood, reputation, and future. In such a case, the
practitioner involved should be the one to make relevant
decisions at the expense of the insurer, who may not have met
or spoken to the practitioner (Mc Calip & Jacovella, 2020). In
this case, it would be advisable for the practitioner to hire the
services of brokers that have the capability to defend claims
where needed. The practitioner should, however, issue clear
indications to the effect that the brokers should not settle any
claim without the consent of the practitioner.
9
Links to Resources
Benrud, L., Darrah, J., & Johnson, A. (2010). Liability
Considerations for Physician Volunteers in the U.S. Health
Law. Retrieved from https://journalofethics.ama-
assn.org/article/liability-considerations-physician-volunteers-
us/2010-03
Brunken, J. (2012). Six Important Liability Insurance Questions
for Medical Practices. Physicians Practice. Retrieved from
https://www.physicianspractice.com/six-important-liability-
insurance-questions-medical-practices
Fanaroff, J. (2019). Medical liability experts answer questions
from AAP members. AAP News. Retrieved from
https://www.aappublications.org/news/2019/08/28/law082819

7. References
Bertoli, P., & Grembi, V. (2018). Medical malpractice: how
legal liability affects medical decisions. Health Econometrics,
235.
Mc Calip, D. R., & Jacovella, P. F. (2020). Legal Issues.
In Injection-Induced Breast Siliconomas (pp. 289-298).
Springer, Cham.
Schneider, H. (2017). Legal considerations of telemedical
care. Herzschrittmachertherapie & Elektrophysiologie, 28(3),
303-306.
RUNNING HEAD: LIVING WILL
LIVING WILL
6
Introduction
Each of the fifty states have some law regarding the ability of
patients to make decisions about their medical care before the
need for treatment arises through the use of advance directives.
The great majority of states allow for patients to draft living
wills that set forth the type and duration of medical care that

8. they wish to receive should they become unable to communicate
those wishes on their own.
A living will, sometimes referred to as advance directives, is a
legal document that you can create for yourself in the event that
you are incapacitated or deceased. It is the binding document
that frees your near and dear ones from having to face the
uncertainties that are involved in legalities that occur after your
death, potentially saving them days, months or even years of
having to run around for their rightful inheritance.
It was created in response to the increasing ability of medical
technology to prolong dying, frequently in a painful and
undignified way. Often at the time life supports are needed
patients are unable to communicate their wishes. A patient's
autonomy and right to privacy may be violated in such
circumstances when it is medical personnel or others, and not
the patient, who make crucial decisions regarding life supports
(Johnston, 2015). A living will is used to make a person’s
wishes known about what type of medical care that person
wants to received should he or she become terminally ill or
permanently unconscious. This allows you to clarify all medical
wishes and instructions upfront so that no misunderstandings
occur when it is too late. It can allow a person to specify the
circumstances in which he or she wants to receive life-
sustaining treatments and any limitations on those treatments. It
can even be used to specify the person’s funeral and burial
instructions.
Template
I, [NAME], a resident of [CITY], [STATE], in [COUNTRY],
with an address at [ADDRESS], being of sound mind, memory,
disposition, understanding, and at least eighteen years of age,
do willfully and freely, by this Living Will, direct my family,
physician(s), attorney, and any other individuals who may in the
future become responsible for my health and well-being and any
decisions related thereto, whether partly or fully, to take the

9. following actions in each of the circumstances described in this
Living Will below.
1. In the event that I develop a condition deemed to be
“terminal” and my attending physician and one other physician
have both determined/agreed that there is no chance for
recovery from this terminal condition, I request/direct the
following:
a. Indicate either “Do not prolong my life using artificial life
support” or “Use whatever life-prolonging procedures are
available to prolong my life.”
b. Indicate either “Do not administer food or water artificially”
or “Administer food and water artificially” or “Administer food
and water artificially only to the extent necessary to provide
comfort or alleviate pain, provided such administration does not
have the added effect of prolonging my life artificially.”
c. Indicate either “Administer necessary care in order to provide
comfort and alleviate pain” or “Do not administer any care
intended to provide comfort or alleviate pain” or “Administer
necessary care in order to provide comfort and alleviate pain to
the extent that such care does not also have the effect of
prolonging my life artificially.”
2. In the event that I fall into a coma and my attending
physician and one other physician have both determined/agreed
that there is no chance for recovery from this condition, I
request/direct the following:
a. Indicate either “Do not prolong my life using artificial life
support” or “Use whatever life-prolonging procedures are
available to prolong my life.”
b. Indicate either “Do not administer food or water artificially”

10. or “Administer food and water artificially” or “Administer food
and water artificially only to the extent necessary to provide
comfort or alleviate pain, provided such administration does not
have the added effect of prolonging my life artificially.”
c. Indicate either “Administer necessary care in order to provide
comfort and alleviate pain” or “Do not administer any care
intended to provide comfort or alleviate pain” or “Administer
necessary care in order to provide comfort and alleviate pain to
the extent that such care does not also have the effect of
prolonging my life artificially.”
3. In the event that I am in a persistent vegetative state and my
attending physician and one other physician have both
determined/agreed that there is no chance for recovery from this
condition, I request/direct the following:
a. Indicate either “Do not prolong my life using artificial life
support” or “Use whatever life-prolonging procedures are
available to prolong my life.”
b. Indicate either “Do not administer food or water artificially”
or “Administer food and water artificially” or “Administer food
and water artificially only to the extent necessary to provide
comfort or alleviate pain, provided such administration does not
have the added effect of prolonging my life artificially.”
c. Indicate either “Administer necessary care in order to provide
comfort and alleviate pain” or “Do not administer any care
intended to provide comfort or alleviate pain” or “Administer
necessary care in order to provide comfort and alleviate pain to
the extent that such care does not also have the effect of
prolonging my life artificially.”
By my signature below, in front of the witnesses identified
below, I hereby execute and subscribe to the declarations made

11. in this Living Will both freely and voluntarily, and
wholeheartedly request that my family, physician(s), attorney,
and any other individuals who may in the future become
responsible for my health and well-being and any decisions
related thereto, whether partly or fully, all abide by my wishes
as stated herein.
_________________________________ ______________
[NAME] DATE
This Living Will was signed by [NAME] in the presence of the
following individuals, who by their signatures below, confirm
that [NAME] was, at the time this document was signed, at least
eighteen years of age, of sound mind, memory, disposition,
understanding, and able to understand the weight of this health
care decision, and not under any improper influence. The
undersigned witnesses have subscribed this document in
[NAME]’s presence and in each other’s presence at [NAME]’s
request.
[WITNESS NAME]
[ADDRESS]_________________________________
______________DATE
[WITNESS NAME]
[ADDRESS]_________________________________
______________DATE
Purpose of a Will
Advanced medical directives are legal mechanisms to assure
that patients' wishes, with respect, to several medical
procedures are carried out in their final days or when they are
incapacitated. The documents reflect patients' rights of consent
and medical choice under conditions whereby patients can no

12. longer choose for themselves what medical interventions they
wish to undergo. A living will extends the principle of consent,
whereby patients must agree to any medical intervention before
doctors can proceed. It allows the patient to guide health care
for the future when she may be too ill to make decisions
concerning care. It can be revoked by the patient at any time.
For many, the living will preserve’s personal control and eases
the decision-making burden of a family.
REFERENCE
Johnston SC; et al. (2015). "The discussion about advance
directives: patient and physician opinions regarding when and
how it should be conducted". Archives of Internal Medicine.
155 (10): 1025–1030.
[3/5/20]
Advanced Healthcare Law and Ethics
Deliverable 5
Living Will
Keri King
MEMO 2

13. (
2/4/2020
) (
Advanced Healthcare Law and Ethics
Deliverable 3
) (
Memo About Patient Intakes
Keri King
)
MEMORANDUM
TO: The employees
FROM: Three Mountains Regional Hospital
DATE: 2/4/2020
SUBJECT: ADMISSION FORMS
Success is what every organization and business aim to achieve.
In our healthcare organization we aim to achieve that too, it will
be possible for us to do so if we are able to make our employees
understand the forms that are filled at the admissions of
patients. In doing this, they can spread that knowledge to the
patients or the team that accompanied the patient and these will
boost our employee's trust and the customer or rather the
patients. I was then tasked to be the one to inform them about
all this process. The best way I saw was to use memorandum in
order to reach all the employees on time.
There are two types of admission that patients undergo, these
include; elective admission and emergency admission. In each
of the admission, there are different types of forms that patients
are required to fill so that they allowed to proceed with
treatment. Most patients do not understand these forms perfectly
or what they require or the need to fill these forms our
employees are then required to have the knowledge on these
forms and therefore be in a capability transferring this
knowledge to all the patients, McGonigle, D. Mastrain, K.

14. (2012). The examples of these forms are; patient referral form,
consent for treatment form, patient history sheet, consent to the
collection and use of personal and health information form,
health insurance claim form, emergency transfer form. These
and other forms are what all patients are required to fill in the
admission process. These particular forms are really important
to our organization and all our employees are expected to
understand them and be able to infiltrate knowledge concerning
them to all the patients before they fill them.
The first form is the health insurance form which is an
important form that a patient is required to fill in case they have
an insurance cover that covers for a risk of the person using it.
It is an important factor to note because every facility has to
know how they will get paid for their services to the patients.
The patient must understand the need of filling this form
because it will help him or her to get the cover he or she is
using. They are also able to understand that if they cannot fill
the form then their cover will not cater for them and then they
will have to pay the hospital bills instead of the insurance cover
doing so, Mosby, 1998. Another type of form is the patient
referral form which is the most important of all every patient
who requires extra medication that our organization cannot
offer is the required to fill this form with the assistance the
employees. This is because they are able to understand the
reason they are getting referred to another medical organization,
it will also contain important information that the next medical
facility will require to know like the kind of medication the
patient was in and many more.
Patient history sheet is just one of the important forms a patient
just fills before being admitted to our organization. The
importance of filling this form is that it will enable us to know
which medical problems the patient has ever undergone and
therefore we can determine the probability of the sickness had a
recurrence or if the current situation of the patient is related to
the previous problems, McGonigle, D. Mastrain, K. (2012). It is
also important because it will prevent our employees from

15. messing up with the health of the patient.
Consent for treatment form which is very important because it
protects the patient. Every patient has the capability to decide
whether they want to be treated or not therefore in doing so if
anything in anyway happens and they were informed of the
dangers then the organization cannot be punished for the
problem. An example of this is before a person is sent to a
surgical operation then they are required to fill a consent for
treatment which they are allowed to give their concern for their
lives and informed if anything happens to then it will not be a
responsibility of the medical organization, Mosby, 1998.
Emergency transfer form is one of the important forms a patient
has to fill. The importance of this form is that for an emergency
to occur there are some important notes that have to be taken
for example blood groups and many another things to allow our
employees to know how they are going to handle these
emergency issues which occurs.
In this memo, we have highlighted the responsibilities of our
employees to ensure that all the forms that patients are required
to fill are filled without no delay and they have informed the
reason as to why the fill the forms. The reasons for the patients
filling these forms are because they are important to them in
many different ways. If any of the employees have any question
concerning the forms that are supposed to ensure the entire
patients fill them can come to the main office and get the
answers to their questions.

16. REFERENCES
Perry, Ann Griffin. Clinical Nursing Skills and Techniques.
Mosby, 1998.
McGonigle, D. Mastrain, K. (2012). Nursing Informatics and
the Foundation of Knowledge. (2nd ed.)
Professional Ethics and Liability Protections
1
Professional Ethics and Liability Protections
2
Advanced Healthcare Law and EthicsKeri A. King
Course Project 1
Introduction
Three Mountains Regional Hospital
Good morning everyone, my name is Keri King and I am your
Health Services Manager here at Three Mountains Regional
Hospital. Today I will be hosting a training session on the
importance of professional ethics and liability protections. We

17. will be covering the similarities and differences between laws
and ethics, the impact of unethical practices on healthcare, and
the importance of professional ethics.
An information sheet will be provided for you to follow along
during this training session. Feel free to take notes on the
information sheet and/or highlight as needed, for these papers
are yours to keep. I kindly ask of you to hold all questions until
I have completed the entire section. I will pause for questions or
concerns to be addressed between each section upon
completion. Alright, let’s get started!
Information Sheet
The Importance of Professional Ethics and Liability Protections
The differences between Laws and Ethics
· LAWS- Are societal standards of what is right and what is
wrong.
· If you violate laws, society punishes you (externally with
fines or jail time).
· There are two major types of laws: Criminal Law and Civil
Law.
· Criminal Law- is defined as a crime against the state.
· Civil Law- Is defined as a crime against a person.
· ETHICS- Are personal standards of what is right and what is
wrong.
· If you violate your personal ethics, you punish yourself
(internally).
· One’s personal ethics develop as a result of one’s moral
values, which are formed as a result of interactions with family,
culture, and society.
The similarities between Laws and Ethics
1. It is possible for one’s ethics to conflict with laws and vice
versa.
a. Something might be legal (but considered unethical by some)
b. Or illegal (yet considered ethically correct by some)
2. Ethics and Laws are closely intertwined as they both have
focus on right and wrong, preventing immoral acts and on

18. creating rules for trade groups such as doctors and social
workers.
3. Ethics and Laws can and do change over time. As ethics
change, what was illegal can become legal (for example, women
voting) and what was legal can become illegal (for example,
child labor).
The Impact of Unethical Practices on Healthcare
Examples of unethical behavior
· Practicing without the proper educational qualifications
· Negligence
· Erroneous, unwarranted or uncertain prescriptions, treatments
or surgical procedures
· Monitoring or conducting torture, or sexual misconduct with
patients
· Unethical disclosure of a patient’s medical history to
employers, credit investigators, banks, attorneys etc.
Some impacts of unethical practices on healthcare can result in
the following:
1. Legal Issues- Healthcare facilities can face large fines and
penalties. Unethical behavior that leads to harmful practices for
patients can result in facing criminal charges.
2. Employee Relations- When an employee of a business
exhibits a lack of ethical behavior, they risk losing the respect
and trust of their co-workers. Causing tension among employees
resenting those who do not play by the rules. Which is
detrimental in healthcare. We rely on collaboration and a sense
of community, especially during critical situations.
3. Company Credibility- If a lack of ethics in healthcare
becomes public knowledge, that healthcare facility loses
credibility. While some facilities survive public knowledge of a
lack of ethics through reimaging and advertising campaigns,
many lose a key customer base.
· Ignorance of the law is not defense, especially when lives are
at stake. That is why it is essential that healthcare workers
continue their education, especially with regard to changes in

19. the law and the role of legal profession in healthcare.
The Importance of Professional Ethics
Professional Ethics- The personal and corporate rules that
govern behavior within the context of a profession.
· Professional ethics establishes a baseline for common
decency, respect, fairness and integrity.
· They provide a basis for positive and shared expectations.
· Professional ethics build trust and relationship between
employee and patient.
· Many well-known companies have suffered many destructive
effects due to a lack of professional ethics.
· All healthcare professionals should respect their patients,
maintain their patient’s dignity and protect the patients’ rights.
References
Zeiger, S. (2018, June 28). Effects of a Lack of Ethics on a
Business Environment. Retrieved from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-lack-ethics-business-
environment-23332.html
Unethical practice of health professionals. (n.d.). Retrieved
from http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/134702
What Are the Similarities Between Ethics and Law? (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://www.reference.com/world-
view/similarities-between-ethics-law-29cb69d52127ac87
(n.d.). Retrieved from
https://rasmussen.mycourselabs.com/labs/course/view.php?id=1
122§ion=5