1) Failure to perform an action that a reasonable person would have performed in a similar situation is
- A) an assumption of risk.
- B) negligence.
- C) respondeat superior.
- D) malfeasance.
Answer: B
2) Performing a wrong and illegal act is considered
- A) misfeasance.
- B) nonfeasance.
- C) malfeasance.
- D) feasance.
Answer: C
3) Professional misconduct or demonstration of an unreasonable lack of skill with the result of injury, loss, or damage to the patient is
- A) nonfeasance.
- B) feasance.
- C) malpractice.
- D) misfeasance.
Answer: C
4) Negligence is composed of four elements
- A) malpractice, misfeasance, nonfeasance, and malfeasance.
- B) duty, dereliction of duty, direct or proximate cause, and damages.
- C) malpractice, misfeasance, dereliction of duty, and damages.
- D) duty, dereliction of duty, nonfeasance, and malfeasance.
Answer: B
5) The reasonable person standard refers to the
- A) dereliction of duty.
- B) damages.
- C) duty of due care.
- D) proximate cause.
Answer: C
6) The standard of care for physicians and other healthcare professionals is determined by
- A) the AMA.
- B) the local hospital.
- C) a board of physicians appointed by the local chapter of the AMA who practice in the same medical specialty.
- D) what members of the same profession would do in a similar situation within the same geographic area.
Answer: D
7) To prove dereliction of duty, a patient would have to prove the physician
- A) did not carry malpractice insurance.
- B) did not conform to the acceptable standard of care.
- C) took additional risks in performing the treatment.
- D) none of the above.
Answer: B
8) The thing speaks for itself applies to the law of negligence and is the doctrine of
- A) res ipsa loquitur.
- B) respondeat superior.
- C) preponderance of evidence.
- D) compensatory damages.
Answer: A
9) Monetary awards by a court to a person who has been harmed in an especially malicious or willful way are
- A) compensatory damages.
- B) nominal damages.
- C) punitive damages.
- D) wrongful damages.
Answer: C
10) To win a wrongful death case, the plaintiff must prove
- A) proximate cause of death.
- B) malpractice.
- C) nominal damages.
- D) negligence.
Answer: D
11) The most common defense provided by the defendant in a medical malpractice case is called
- A) affirmative defense.
- B) denial defense.
- C) assumption of risk.
- D) borrowed servant.
Answer: B
12) Assumption of risk is the legal defense
- A) used by the defendant in a case to prove innocence from injury.
- B) that prevents the plaintiff from recovering damages if he or she accepts a risk associated with the activity.
- C) that determines that the patient was fully or partly at fault for the injury, and no damages may be recovered.
- D) that bases the recovery of damages by the plaintiff on the amount of fault of the defendant.
Answer: B
13) When an employer lends an employee to someone else, this is called
- A) comparative negligence.
- B) respondeat superior.
- C) the borrowed servant doctrine.
- D) fraud.
Answer: C
14) The statute of limitations for a case begins to run
- A) when the injury occurs.
- B) 2 years after the injury.
- C) when the plaintiff sues the defendant.
- D) when the injury is discovered.
Answer: D
15) Deliberate concealment of the facts from a patient is
- A) comparative negligence.
- B) fraud.
- C) liability.
- D) contributory negligence.
Answer: B
16) Res judicata means
- A) the thing has been decided.
- B) let the master answer.
- C) borrowed servant doctrine.
- D) the thing speaks for itself.
Answer: A
17) The legal relationship formed between two people when one person agrees to perform work for another person is called
- A) the promise to cure.
- B) liability.
- C) the law of agency.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: C
18) Protection for the physician/employer by the healthcare professional is best accomplished by
- A) having a job description with clearly defined responsibilities, duties, and necessary skills.
- B) using extreme care when performing his or her job.
- C) carrying out only those procedures for which he or she is trained.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: D
19) Responsibility for action in employment is ultimately assigned to the
- A) employee.
- B) employer.
- C) agency.
- D) supervisor.
Answer: B
20) A contract by which one person promises to compensate or reimburse another if he or she suffers a loss from a specific cause or a negligent act is
- A) a rider.
- B) arbitration.
- C) liability insurance.
- D) malpractice insurance.
Answer: C
21) Coverage of the insured party for all injuries and incidents that occurred while the policy was in effect, regardless of when they are reported, is
- A) occurrence insurance.
- B) claims-made insurance.
- C) malpractice insurance.
- D) rider insurance.
Answer: A
22) A general liability policy that covers any negligence on the part of the physician’s staff would include
- A) claims-made insurance.
- B) occurrence insurance.
- C) the malpractice policy.
- D) a rider on the malpractice policy.
Answer: D
23) Submitting a dispute to a person other than a judge is called
- A) law of agency.
- B) arbitrator.
- C) arbitration.
- D) liability.
Answer: C
24) A/An important reason for arbitration(s) of civil cases is to save
- A) court appointments.
- B) time.
- C) money.
- D) time and money.
Answer: D
25) The only health professional who is not usually employed by the physician is the
- A) nurse.
- B) pharmacist.
- C) medical assistant.
- D) radiology technician.
Answer: B
Medical Law and Ethics, 5e (Fremgen)
Chapter 7 Public Duties of the Physician and the Health Care Professional
1) Data, such as birth and death dates, are used by the government to
- A) determine the tax base for a community.
- B) determine population trends and needs.
- C) encourage planning and zoning in a community.
- D) provide healthcare professionals in a city.
Answer: B
2) Public duties for the physician include reporting
- A) births and still births.
- B) deaths and injuries.
- C) communicable illnesses or diseases.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: D
3) The live birth certificate must be signed by the
- A) county medical officer.
- B) physician who delivered the child.
- C) person in attendance in a home birth.
- D) B and C.
Answer: D
4) A death certificate must include the
- A) date and time of death.
- B) name of the parents of the deceased.
- C) location of the place of death.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: D
5) A coroner or medical examiner must sign the death certificate of the deceased when
- A) no physician was present at the time of death.
- B) a violent death occurred.
- C) the death occurred when the deceased was in jail or prison.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: D
6) A medical examiner is a
- A) physician.
- B) nurse practitioner.
- C) physician assistant.
- D) lawyer.
Answer: A
7) Which of the following is not a reportable communicable disease?
- A) Tetanus
- B) Tuberculosis
- C) Chicken pox
- D) Gonorrhea
Answer: C
8) Which of the following is/are required by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986?
- A) The polio virus vaccine, live
- B) The hepatitis A vaccine
- C) The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine
- D) A and C
Answer: D
9) A physician reporting possible child abuse
- A) may be sued by the parents of the child for defamation.
- B) may not be sued by the parents of the child for defamation.
- C) may file an initial oral report followed by a written report.
- D) B and C.
Answer: D
10) Failure to report a suspected case of child abuse may result in a charge of
- A) manslaughter.
- B) misdemeanor.
- C) felony.
- D) child abuse.
Answer: B
11) Elder abuse may legally include all of the following except
- A) physical abuse.
- B) exploitation.
- C) verbal abuse.
- D) abandonment.
Answer: C
12) Injuries, fractures, pain in the genital area, and weight loss may be signs of
- A) exploitation.
- B) abandonment.
- C) psychological abuse.
- D) physical abuse.
Answer: D
13) Evidence gathered in an abuse case may include
- A) pictures of bruises or injuries.
- B) urine specimens.
- C) clothing.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: D
14) Chain of evidence refers to all of the following except
- A) clearly labeled evidence with name, date, and time.
- B) documentation in the medical record of date and time the evidence was obtained.
- C) clothing evidence that is clean and dry.
- D) evidence that has been kept in locked storage until required.
Answer: C
15) Conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, and congenital disorders of the newborn are often reported to government agencies in order to
- A) receive additional funding from insurance companies.
- B) maintain accurate public health statistics.
- C) receive funding through Medicare.
- D) prevent malpractice lawsuits.
Answer: B
16) Enforcement of drug sales and distribution is through the
- A) local pharmacy.
- B) Drug Enforcement Administration.
- C) Food and Drug Administration.
- D) Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
Answer: C
17) The purpose of the DEA is to
- A) regulate the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
- B) ensure the safety of food items sold in the United States.
- C) regulate drug dealers.
- D) keep physicians from prescribing controlled substances.
Answer: A
18) Registration for physicians who administer controlled substances must be renewed every
- A) 2 years.
- B) 3 years.
- C) 4 years.
- D) 5 years.
Answer: B
19) The proper method of destroying a controlled substance that needs to be disposed of “disposed of or wasted” is to
- A) return it to the original container to be counted.
- B) flush it down a toilet as advised by the manufacturer.
- C) place it in a locked container to be removed by the hazardous waste disposal personnel.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: B
20) The penalty for violation of the Controlled Substances Act is
- A) a fine.
- B) loss of license to practice medicine.
- C) a jail sentence.
- D) all of the above.
Answer: D
21) DEA registration numbers are available to
- A) physicians.
- B) medical assistants.
- C) nurses.
- D) pharmacists.
Answer: A
22) Prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances can
- A) be refilled every 6 months.
- B) be refilled over the phone in a nonemergency.
- C) not be refilled.
- D) be refilled for up to 2 years.
Answer: C
23) A program of management-financed and confidential counseling and referral service designed to help employees and/or their family members assess a problem is the
- A) EAP.
- B) DEA.
- C) FDA.
- D) CSA.
Answer: A
24) It is estimated that personal problems related to alcohol and/or drug abuse cost the U.S. economy more than ________ of its $70 billion budget yearly.
- A) 25 percent
- B) 33 percent
- C) 50 percent
- D) 75 percent
Answer: C
25) Hazardous medical waste includes
- A) solid waste from administration.
- B) infectious waste from body fluid contact.
- C) radioactive waste.
- D) B and C.
Answer: D