Patient Advocacy Laws

Sour Lemon · Dec 8, 2016

Hi! Anyone know of federal and california state laws concerning patient advocacy?

That is a rather broad topic. You might have better luck with answers if you're able to narrow it down.

Atl-Murse · Dec 8, 2016

HIPPA comes to mind.

MellyR · Dec 8, 2016

Hi! Would anyone be able to list any federal and california state laws they know of about patient advocacy?

- Any laws that outline or define what a nurse's role is in patient advocacy?

- Laws that would be used to support a trial against a nurse for failure to advocate for his/her patient?

- Laws that support a trial for a nurse who was simply advocating for his/her patient?

AliNajaCat · Dec 8, 2016

The applicable legal standard for nursing practice is found in the nurse practice acts in the states, and in the few states that don't have one (yep) the backup is the ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice (2015). This is binding on all nurses regardless of NPA, anyway. The federal government does not regulate nursing practice.

Any legal action involving allegations of failure to advocate would refer to these. I have had occasion to point them out to attorneys who don't know them, and they are often surprised. So are a lot of nurses, for that matter.

It's a really good read if you don't have it already. Get it at Amazon or direct from ANA. See the power (and obligations) you really have, and think of ways to use them.

MellyR · Dec 8, 2016

Thank you so much for your reply. I will definitely read it!

Trauma Columnist · Dec 8, 2016

Merged threads

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Dec 8, 2016

In Texas, we do have a legally defined Nurse-Patient duty that is separate and distinct from the physician-patient duty that applies throughout the US. It's been in place since 1984 as the result of a specific case. Texas nurses are accountable for not only performing according to the NPA, but also intervening if a physician or other provider's "order" or intervention is unclear or (based on the nurse's own knowledge and judgement) contrary to the best interests of the patient. Of course, we're supposed to first discuss with the physician - but the 'do whatever the physician says' (aka captain of the ship) doctrine does not apply.

For example, if a nurse knows that a medication order is outside the therapeutic range, or may be contraindicated for a specific patient, the nurse has a duty to intervene, starting with a call to the physician. If a patient asks his nurse "are there any alternative therapies for my illness?", the nurse has a duty to provide information to the best of his ability and cannot just say "discuss this with your physician". No lie - it does tick off a lot of physicians, particularly those that are not familiar with the legalities.