Chapter 08: Legal Issues in Nursing and Health Care Cherry and Jacob: Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends, and Management, 8th Edition

1. A client arrives in active labor and exhibits toxemia with irregular fetal heart tones. The client is an immigrant and is uninsured. Which act would prevent the client from being transferred to another facility? a. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law b. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act c. Patient Self-Determination Act d. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act ANS: A The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law is a federal statute that was enacted in 1986 to prohibit the transfer of unstable clients, including women in labor, from one facility to another. This law also prohibits refusal of care for indigent and uninsured clients who seek medical assistance in the emergency department. DIF: Comprehension 2. A nurse is caring for a client with malignant hypertension whose blood pressure has increased by 40 mm Hg during the past hour. The nurse goes to lunch and fails to report the change to the physician. The nurse is at risk for being charged with which legal claim? a. Negligence b. Assault c. Defamation of character d. Tort