By: Kathleen Gaines MSN, BA, RN, CBC. This guide offers an overview of the ACA and examines what this historic reform means for nurses. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), the nursing code of ethics is a guide for “carrying out nursing responsibilities in a manner consistent with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession.”Ethics, in general, are the moral principles … HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The law requires that a person give voluntary and informed consent for medical treatment. 2. The law has many components; the area most important to nurses is the law’s mandate to preserve the privacy of patients’ private health information. Nursing liability insurance tends not to be expensive and it provides coverage in emergency situations. A nurse should familiarize herself with the law on advance directives, resuscitation decisions, and the determination of death. The organization has the responsibility to protect the patient from incompetent or unqualified special duty nurses. What is HIPAA? The article explains that if nurses are uncertain why they are doing something, they should investigate this further, because the law expects nurses to be able to justify their actions, or failure to act. A failure to do so could lead to a suit by the patient or his family and disciplinary action. Nursing Responsibilities in HIPAA. As stated by O’Keefe in Nursing Malpractice and the Law, in nursing care, patient rights are the advocacy symbol. Which of the following statements accurately describes this legal obligation? Nurses also have a duty to honor a patients DNR request. Nancy J. Brent, RN, MS, JD, a nurse attorney in private law practice in Wilmette, IL, represents nurses and other health care providers before the state agency that regulates health professionals. Nursing … B. When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in 2010, it transformed the entire fabric of the U.S. healthcare system, including how nurses and other healthcare professionals approached their jobs. STUDENT NURSES Student nurses are entrusted with the responsibility of providing nursing care to patients. Brent graduated from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 1981. When liability is being assessed, a student nurse serving at a health care facility is considered an agent … Functions of Law in Nursing The law serves a number of functions in nursing which are to: – Provides a framework for establishing which nursing actions in the care of clients are legal – Differentiates the nurses’ responsibilities from those of other health professionals – Helps establish the boundaries of independent nursing … A) It is the responsibility of the nurse to obtain … It also discusses workplace incivility and its adverse effects on nurses, patient care and healthcare organisations. The Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements of ANA provides a guide for decision making related to ethical issues and defines the nurse as a patient advocate. The NPA gives authority to regulate the practice of nursing and the enforcement of law to an administrative agency or BON that is charged with maintaining the balance between the rights of the nurse to practice nursing and the responsibility to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of its citizens (Brous, 2012, p. 508). Introduction to law in nursing 7 The standards imposed on registered nurses by the Nursing and Midwifery Council are contained in The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (NMC, 2008). Read The Code, which can be downloaded from the NMC website at www.nmc-uk.org, and Nurses have the right to fair compensation for their work, consistent with their educational preparation, knowledge, experience and professional responsibilities. 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