Promoting Legal and Ethical Awareness

Book excerpt: Combining the best of author Ron Scott’s books, Promoting Legal Awareness in Physical and Occupational Therapy and Professional Ethics: A Guide for Rehabilitation Professionals, his newest text Promoting Legal and Ethical Awareness: A Primer for Health Professionals and Patients includes the latest case, regulatory, and statutory law. This valuable ethical and legal resource also includes an alphabetized section on HIPAA, current information on the reauthorized IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act), and expanded coverage of alternative dispute resolution and attorney-health professional-client relations. Cases and Questions allow you to apply key legal and ethical principles to a rehabilitation practice situation. Special Key Term boxes introduce and define important vocabulary to ensure your understanding of chapter content. Additional resource lists in each chapter include helpful sources for articles, books, and websites to further your learning. Case Examples let you put new ideas and concepts into practice by applying your knowledge to the example. Legal Foundations and Ethical Foundations chapters introduce the basic concepts of law, legal history, the court system, and ethics in the professional setting to provide a solid base for legal and ethical knowledge. An entire chapter devoted to healthcare malpractice provides vital information on practice problems that have legal implications, the claim process, and claim prevention. An extended discussion of the Americans with Disabilities Act informs you of your rights as an employee as well as the challenges faced in the workforce by your rehabilitation patients. Content on employment legal issues includes essential information for both employees and employers on patient interaction and the patient’s status in the workplace. Coverage of end-of-life issues and their legal and ethical implications provides important information for helping patients through end-of-life decisions and care.