Patient Care · ARRT Radiography
Ethics, Law & Communication
Assault vs battery, the four D's of negligence, informed consent rules, HIPAA and PHI, the 22 ARRT Rules of Ethics, and therapeutic communication for the radiography exam.
Overview
Ethics, Law and Communication comes down to two questions: what you are allowed to do to a patient, and what you say while you do it. There is no math. The ARRT outline names the legal terms and doctrines, so learn each one well enough to spot it in a short imaging-department scenario and pick the right response.
Start with the legal vocabulary. Assault is the threat; battery is unconsented contact, such as taking a portable chest after the patient refused. Negligence is the unintentional tort, and a claim needs all four D's: duty, dereliction, direct cause, and damages, so no harm means no claim. Res ipsa loquitur lets negligence be presumed when the injury speaks for itself; respondeat superior makes the employer answer for the employee. Patient falls generate more suits against radiographers than anything else.
Consent has levels. The blanket form signed at admission covers routine care only; biopsies, sedation, and arteriography need a written informed consent that explains risks, benefits, alternatives, and the right to withdraw. A competent adult signs for themselves, a parent or guardian for a minor, and an emancipated minor may sign alone. Implied consent covers emergencies when nobody can be reached.
The ARRT Standards of Ethics is one document in two parts: an aspirational Code and 22 enforceable Rules, with violations reported to ARRT in writing within 30 days and errors reported immediately to your supervisor. HIPAA protects all identifiable health information, spoken included, and accessing a record with no permitted purpose, such as the patient's treatment, is itself a breach. Identify every patient with at least two identifiers, and never the room number.
What you’ll learn in this chapter
The 29 lessons in this chapter break down as follows. The full lesson content is unlocked when you start a free account.
Patient Care
- Ethics, Law & Communication
Rights
- Patient Rights and the Patient Care Partnership
Privacy
- HIPAA, PHI and the Imaging Department
- Quiz
Consent
- Informed Consent
- Who Can Give It
- Quiz
End of life
- Advance Directives, DNR and Grief
Documentation
- The Requisition, Two Identifiers and the Legal Record
Legal terms
- Assault, Battery and the Intentional Torts
- Negligence, Malpractice and Two Latin Doctrines
- Quiz
- Restraint or Immobilization
Ethics
- The Ethical Principles
- The Standards of Ethics
- Quiz
Communication
- Verbal Communication
- Non-verbal Communication
- Quiz
Barriers
- Language, Culture and Stress
- Hearing, Vision, Speech, Cognition and Trauma
- Quiz
Communication
- Children and Older Adults
Recap
- What to Carry Out of This Chapter
- Quiz
- Quiz
- Quiz
- Quiz
- Quiz
Key terms in this chapter
These are the 8 terms most likely to appear on the ARRT registry from this chapter. Use them as a flashcard pre-quiz.
- Battery
- Unconsented physical contact, such as imaging a patient who refused the examination. Assault is the threat alone, and requires no contact at all.
- Negligence
- The unintentional tort. A claim requires all four D's: duty, dereliction, direct cause, and damages, so a careless act that injures nobody wins no damages, though it is still negligent.
- Res Ipsa Loquitur
- The thing speaks for itself. When an injury is of a kind that does not happen without negligence, such as a burn from unmaintained equipment, negligence may be presumed.
- Respondeat Superior
- Let the master answer. The employer may be held liable for an employee's negligence, though the technologist remains liable for their own actions as well.
- Informed Consent
- Voluntary written permission given after the procedure, its risks, benefits, and alternatives are explained in language the patient understands, with the right to withdraw at any point.
- Protected Health Information (PHI)
- All individually identifiable health information, whether electronic, on paper, or spoken. HIPAA permits its use and sharing for treatment, payment and health care operations; beyond that, it generally needs the patient's authorization.
- Rules of Ethics
- The 22 enforceable rules in the ARRT Standards of Ethics, added in 2001. Known violations must be reported to ARRT in writing within 30 days, harm or no harm.
- Patient Care Partnership
- The American Hospital Association's 2003 plain-language document on patient rights, which replaced the earlier Patients' Bill of Rights.
Sample practice question: Patient Interactions
One free sample from the 391-question Patient Interactions bank. See the format, the rationale style, and the difficulty before you sign up.
A patient is scheduled for an upper GI series. Before bringing the patient into the fluoroscopy room, which of the following is the radiographer's FIRST priority?
Show answer and rationale
A, Incorrect: Order verification matters, but it follows patient identification.
B, Correct: Correct. The Joint Commission requires two-factor identification (typically name and DOB) before any procedure. Wrong-patient errors are the most common preventable adverse event in imaging.
C, Incorrect: Barium administration begins after the patient is identified and consented.
D, Incorrect: Positioning happens after identification, history-taking, and consent confirmation.
Read 3 chapters free.
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Frequently asked questions
What does the ARRT Radiography Patient Care category cover?
Ethics, Law and Communication comes down to two questions: what you are allowed to do to a patient, and what you say while you do it. There is no math. The ARRT outline names the legal terms and doctrines, so learn each one well enough to spot it in a short imaging-department scenario and pick the right response.
How many lessons are in the Ethics, Law & Communication chapter?
This chapter contains 29 lessons across 12 sections, plus a knowledge-check quiz at the end. The full lesson content is unlocked with a Premium subscription. The free tier includes 3 complete chapters.
Is this chapter aligned with the current ARRT Content Specifications?
Yes. Every chapter on this site maps directly to the ARRT Radiography Content Specifications in effect for your exam window. This chapter falls under the Patient Care domain of the official ARRT exam blueprint.