True/False

1. A governing body can be held liable for acting beyond its scope of authority expressed, for example, in its articles of incorporation or implied in law.

__ 2. Although an organization may operate as a sole proprietorship or partnership, most function as corporations.

__ 3. Corporate negligence occurs when an organization fails to perform those duties it owes directly to a patient. An organization, however, is not generally liable for failing to ensure the competency of its medical staff.

4. A corporation is responsible for the negligent acts of a physician who commits a negligent act in his or her private office, so long as he or she is a member of the organizations medical or dental staff.

__ 5. Organizations are in the best position to protect their patients and consequently have an independent duty to select and retain competent independent physicians seeking staff privileges. An organization has a clear duty to select competent physicians and to regulate the privileges granted to staff physicians.

__ 6. Conflict of interest is presumed to exist when a board member or a firm with which he or she is associated may benefit or lose from the passage of a proposed board action.

__ 7. An organization can be held liable for delays in treatment that result in an injury to a patient.

__ 8. An organizations failure to provide adequate staff to assist its patients in the immediate postoperative period could result in liability for the hospital should a patient be injured as a result of that failure.

__ 9. Independent contractors are responsible for their own negligent acts.

__10. A health care facility is generally not the insurer of a patients surgery. A hospital will not be liable for unsuccessful surgery by a surgeon unless it had reason to believe that the surgeon would commit malpractice.

__11.A staff member or employee has a duty to recognize and report abnormalities in the treatment and condition of patients. If an attending physician fails to act after being informed of such abnormalities, it is incumbent upon an organizations staff member or employee to so advise management so that appropriate corrective action can be taken.

12. A health care corporation derives its authority from the laws of the state in which it was incorporated.

13. Although an organization may be liable for the negligent acts of its employees, the organization may seek indemnification from negligent employees.

__14 A corporation is a legal person with recognized rights, duties, powers, and responsibilities. Because the legal person is in reality a fictitious person, there is a requirement that certain persons be designated to exercise corporate power and that they be held accountable for corporate decision making.

__15. Generally, the authority of a corporation is expressed by the statute under which the corporation was chartered and in the corporations articles of incorporation; for example, the medical staff bylaws usually spell out the boards limitations.