Legal Issues in Health Care

Every patient encounter involves multiple legal and ethical issues. Health care providers who do not know the legal and ethical rules for dealing with patients are at a distinct disadvantage. Knowing the rules helps health care providers:

Provide better care to patients;
Avoid unnecessary, costly and time consuming lawsuits; and
Avoid embarrassing and costly disciplinary actions that may result in the loss of licensure.

This Web site is designed to help health care providers engage in self-study activities to learn the legal and ethical rules of practicing a health care profession. The site focuses on Tennessee law, but the general principles are common in most states.

Explore the tutorials for a quick overview of the legal principles. Each tutorial should take about 5-10 minutes. The factsheets may be printed and read at the learner's convenience. StudyMate™ Activties provide a more in-depth look at the issues, providing hundreds of questions and factoids to help the learner understand the nuances of the law. Presented in an easy to use, game-like format, StudyMate™ Activities make learning fun. The newsletter provides an overview of recent case law or legislation that may be of interest to health care professionals in Tennessee.

*The tutorials, factsheets, and StudyMate™ Activities were reviewed and accepted for publication by MedEdPORTAL (ID # 1706)

Tutorials: (To begin all nine tutorials, click here. To view selected tutorials, use the menu below.)

Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
Business Side of Medicine

Factsheets:

Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
Business Side of Medicine

StudyMate™ Activities Learn the law while playing games and having fun!

Tutorials: (To begin all nine tutorials, click here. To view selected tutorials, use the menu below.)

Physician-Patient Relationship
Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
End-of-Life Legal Issues
Legal Issues of Treating Communicable Diseases
Legal Issues of Mental Health
Business Side of Medicine

Factsheets:

Physician-Patient Relationship
Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
End-of-Life Legal Issues
Legal Issues of Treating Communicable Diseases
Legal Issues of Mental Health
Business Side of Medicine

StudyMate™ Activities Learn the law while playing games and having fun!

Tutorials: (To begin all nine tutorials, click here. To view selected tutorials, use the menu below.)

Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
End-of-Life Legal Issues
Legal Issues of Treating Communicable Diseases
Legal Issues of Mental Health

Factsheets:

Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
End-of-Life Legal Issues
Legal Issues of Treating Communicable Diseases
Legal Issues of Mental Health

StudyMate™ Activities Learn the law while playing games and having fun!

Links of Interest:

Tennessee Nurses Association
Tennessee Board of Nursing
Nurse Practice Acts (all states)
Universal Medication Form
Board of Nursing Continued Competency Rules for Registered Nurses,
See Rule 1000-1-.14
Board of Nursing Continued Competency Rules for Licensed Practical Nurses,
See Rule 1000-2-.14
Licensure Verification
Tennessee Code (click on the folder next to Tennessee Code, click on Title 63, Professions of the Healing Arts, click on Chapter 7, Nursing.

Tutorials: (To begin all nine tutorials, click here. To view selected tutorials, use the menu below.)

Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
End-of-Life Legal Issues
Legal Issues of Treating Communicable Diseases
Legal Issues of Mental Health

Factsheets:

Confidentiality
Consent
Medical Records
Risk Management
End-of-Life Legal Issues
Legal Issues of Treating Communicable Diseases
Legal Issues of Mental Health

StudyMate™ Activities Learn the law while playing games and having fun!