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Chapter 2 Law and Ethics 51
ADVANCE DIRECTIVE
UNIFORM ADVANCE DIRECTIVE OF [list name of declarant]
To my family, physician, attorney, and anyone else who may become responsible for my health, welfare, or affairs, I make this
declaration while I am of sound mind.
If I should ever become in a terminal state and there is no reasonable expectation of my recovery, I direct that I be allowed to die
a natural death and that my life not be prolonged by extraordinary measures. I do, however, ask that medication be mercifully
administered to me to alleviate suffering, even though this may shorten my remaining life.
This statement is made after full reflection and is in accordance with my full desires. I want the above provisions carried out to
the extent permitted by law. Insofar as they are not legally enforceable, I wish that those to whom this will is addressed will
regard themselves as morally bound by this instrument.
If permissible in the jurisdiction in which I may be hospitalized I direct that in the event of a terminal diagnosis, the physicians
supervising my care discontinue feeding should the continuation of feeding be judged to result in unduly prolonging a natural
death.
If permissible in the jurisdiction in which I may be hospitalized I direct that in the event of a terminal diagnosis, the physicians
supervising my care discontinue hydration (water) should the continuation of hydration be judged to result in unduly prolonging a
natural death.
I herewith authorize my spouse, if any, or any relative who is related to me within the third degree to effectuate my transfer from
any hospital or other health care facility in which I may be receiving care should that facility decline or refuse to effectuate the
instructions given herein.
I herewith release any and all hospitals, physicians, and others for myself and for my estate from any liability for complying with
this instrument.
Signed:
[list name of declarant]
City of residence:
County of residence:
State of residence:
Social Security Number:
[city of residence]
[county of residence]
[state of residence]
[social security number]
Date:
Witness
Witness
STATE OF
COUNTY OF
This day personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority, a Notary Public in and for
County, State,
(Witnesses)
who, being first duly sworn, say that they are the subscribing witnesses to the declaration of [list name of declarant], the
declarant, signed, sealed, and published and declared the same as and for his declaration, in the presence of both these
affiants; and that these affiants, at the request of said declarant, in the presence of each other, and in the presence of said
declarant, all present at the same time, signed their names as attesting witnesses to said declaration.
Affiants further say that this affidavit is made at the request of [list name of declarant], declarant, and in his presence, and that
[list name of declarant] at the time the declaration was executed, in the opinion of the affiants, of sound mind and memory,
and over the age of eighteen years.
Taken, subscribed and sworn to before me by
(witness) this
day of , 20 .
(witness) and
Notary Public
Figure 2-3 Sample of advance directive form. (Reprinted from Kronenberger J, Ledbetter J. Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins’ Comprehensive Medical Assisting, 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer; 2016.)
52 Section I General Skills for the Medical Assistant
Health Information Technology for
Economic and Clinical Health Act
The Health Information Technology for Economic
and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was designed to
allow patients the right to inspect, amend, and restrict
access to his/her medical record. Patients are allowed
to have access to their Protected Health Information
(PHI) and request amendments to the record if errors
are found. They also can select who can receive their
medical information and what specic information can
be released.
Preparing for Externship
During your externship, you must perform within the
medical assistant scope of practice. You should also
only perform those procedures taught in class and
that you feel condent to complete. Remember that
one of the most important professional qualities of
a professional medical assistant is condentiality.
HIPAA should be on your mind with everything you
do at the externship. Although you may be tempted
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act
GINA, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
of 2008, was designed to prohibit the use of genetic information when determining health insurance coverage or
benets and during employment decisions including hiring and deciding promotions of individuals. Individuals
cannot be denied health insurance coverage nor can they
be charged a higher premium because of their genetic
information that might indicate that they are predisposed to develop a specic disease in the future.
to discuss your externship experience with your
friends and family, you cannot even share patient
information with your classmates. Your school has
developed an ofcial afliation with your externship
facility. In the afliation agreement, there are numerous requirements of the students when assigned to
the site. One of these is the requirement that students maintain the Privacy Laws of HIPAA.
Chapter Recap
● Medical ofce employees need to have a good
understanding of law and ethics in order to act
appropriately, to make decisions in difcult situations,
and to provide a high standard of customer service
and medical care. Failure to act legally and ethically
at all times can lead to lawsuits and loss of income for
the ofce. It can also put you in conict with the law.
● Laws are rules of conduct that government creates
and requires people to obey. Ethics are guidelines
for proper behavior that come from other sources
than government. The main sources of ethics are
personal morals, values, codes of conduct established
by professional organizations, and standards that are
generally expected by professionals who work in that
eld.
● Morals are a person’s ideas about right and wrong,
while values are generally accepted principles of
importance and worth. Both may result from the
inuences of the person’s family and culture. Rules
for polite behavior are called
and morals, etiquette is determined by culture.
behaviors that are legal may be unethical. However,
nearly all behaviors that are illegal are unethical, too.
etiquette. Like values
● Unethical behaviors can cause a medical professional
to be red. Illegal behaviors can lead to a medical
professional’s arrest. Both types of behaviors can
result in lawsuits.
● Medical assistants who perform their duties in a legal
and ethical manner show high levels of professionalism,
provide good customer service, and reduce the
possibility that lawsuits will result from their actions.
● A medical assistant’s scope of practice is determined
by her training and experience, as well as by any state
laws that may apply.
● The American Association of Medical Assistants
(AAMA) and American Medical Technologists
(AMT) maintain lists of knowledge, skills, and duties
common to the profession of medical assisting.
● Standard of care is determined by the education and
training needed to practice a particular profession.
Because physicians have more education and
training, they are held to a higher standard of care
than medical assistants are.
● Each health care professional is expected to follow
orders, be truthful, and generally act as a reasonable
member of the profession.
Chapter 2 Law and Ethics 53
● A harmful act that’s purposely committed is called
an intentional tort. Many intentional torts are also
crimes.
● An unintentional tort is a wrongful act that’s
committed accidentally, without intent to do harm.
● A person who commits an intentional or unintentional
tort is called a tortfeasor.
● Negligence can occur in any of three ways: malfeasance
is a wrong and unlawful act; misfeasance is a lawful act
performed improperly; and nonfeasance is the failure
to perform an act that should have been performed.
● In general, to prove negligence, the injured party
must prove that: the tortfeasor owed a duty of care,
the tortfeasor is guilty of dereliction of duty by not
providing a proper standard of care, harm or injury
was a direct cause of that failure of duty, and the
harm was serious enough to require the tortfeasor to
pay damages to the injured party.
● HIPAA rules establish which patient information is
condential and when a patient’s information may
and may not be disclosed. They also require that
patients be given a printed notice of the medical
ofce’s policies and practices regarding privacy.
● Laws come from three sources: legislative, executive,
and judicial branches.
● Criminal law involves felonies and misdemeanors.
● Civil law covers wrongful acts that aren’t crimes,
including family issues, contract disputes, and torts.
● Civil suits come about when one party (the plaintiff)
claims to be injured by the actions of another party
(the defendant) and sues the accused party. A judge or
jury then nds in favor of the plaintiff or defendant
and awards damages, if applicable.
● In the medical ofce, respondeat superior means your
employer is responsible for your actions when you
act within your scope of practice.
● For a contract to be valid, three things must be present:
offer and acceptance, consideration, and competence.
● Contracts may be expressed in writing or implied
through action or lack of action.
● When terminating a contract, the physician must
notify the patient by letter, allowing the patient 30
days to choose another physician. The letter should
state the reason for termination, make the patient’s
records available for transfer to another physician, and
recommend further treatments and care, if necessary.
● The Patient Self Determination Act was designed to
provide individuals with the ability to make decisions
about their end of life care.
● The HITECH Act was passed to include rules that
protect the patient’s health information and their
access to that information.
● The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination
Act was designed to protect individuals from
discrimination when applying for health insurance
or during the employment process.
Online Resources for Students
Resources for students available on thepoint.
lww.com include the following:
● Audio Glossary
● Animations
Exercises and Activities
Certication Preparation Questions
1. The range of activities a medical professional is
qualied to perform is called:
a. scope of practice.
b. standard of care.
c. duty of care.
d. reasonable person standard.
e. standard of practice
● Competency Evaluation Forms
● Harris CareTracker Case Studies
● Interactive Games & Activities
● Certication Preparation Question Bank
● Videos
2. Which of the following is not legally performed by
a medical assistant?
a. Taking medical histories
b. Removing sutures and changing dressings
c. Performing venipuncture
d. Interpreting test results
e. Performing electrocardiograms
54 Section I General Skills for the Medical Assistant
3. What is a tortfeasor?
a. A victim of a tort.
b. A person who commits a tort.
c. An attorney who sues a physician for a tort.
d. A person who fails to take the proper action.
e. The plaintiff in a lawsuit.
4. In the medical profession, negligence is known as:
a. malpractice.
b. duty of care.
c. dereliction of duty.
d. direct cause.
e. a misdemeanor.
5. Who is always the plaintiff in a criminal case?
a. The government
b. The person accused of a crime
c. The judge
d. The person who has been harmed
e. The physician
6. Which of the following does not have to be
proven in a medical malpractice case?
a. Direct or proximate cause
b. Res ipsa loquitur
c. Duty of care
d. The reasonable person standard
e. Respondeat superior
7. When is the only time you should provide someone
with the original of a patient’s medical record?
a. If the patient has signed a release of medical
records
b. If the patient’s attorney asks for it
c. If photocopies of the records are not readable
d. If the original record is subpoenaed
e. If the patient’s family requests it
8. An order issued by the court to obtain evidence is:
a. a deposition.
b. a discovery.
c. an interrogatory.
d. a subpoena.
e. an implied contract.
9. Threatening a person or acting in a way that
causes the person to fear harm is called:
a. assault.
b. battery.
c. fraud.
d. libel.
e. slander.
10. The common law principle that employers are
responsible for the actions of their employees is:
a. res ipsa loquitur.
b. respondeat superior.
c. stare decisis.
d. subpoena duces tecum.
e. tortfeasor.
P
S
Y
1. Access the Web site www.genome.gov to read
2. Access the Web site www.uslegal.com and research
Internet Activities
more about GINA, the Genetic Information NonDiscrimination Act of 2008. Research-specic
information regarding hiring practices and the illegal
use of genetic information.
the age of majority in various states throughout the
United States.
Medical Ofce
3
Procedures
Chapter Objectives
● Review of functions of computers in the medical
ofce.
● Explain the proper use and function of an
organization’s intranet.
● Discuss general guidelines for computerized
appointment scheduling.
● Review various computer programs used within the
health care environment.
● Discuss the importance of proper computer ethics.
● Create professional e-mails.
● Review guidelines for opening of e-mail attachments
and potential hazards.
● Maintaining password and computer security.
● Understand basic Internet safety and usage.
● Discuss the role and goals of quality improvement.
● Summarize the guidelines for completing incident
reports.
● Perform an inventory of supplies and equipment.
CAAHEP & ABHES Competencies
CAAHEP
● Perform routine maintenance of administrative and
clinical equipment.
● Perform an inventory with documentation.
● Explain the purpose of routine maintenance of
administrative and clinical equipment.
Chapter Terms
Cookies
Encryption
Firewalls
Incident reports
Intranet
Inventory
● List steps involved in completing an inventory.
● Explain the importance of data backup.
ABHES
● Maintain inventory of equipment and supplies.
● Perform routine maintenance of administrative
equipment.
Meaningful Use
Privileged information
Risk management
Service contract
Unsecure information
Viruses
55
56 Section I General Skills for the Medical Assistant
Abbreviations
CLIA
CMS
To be successful, a medical ofce must function efciently
and effectively. As a medical assistant, you’ll have an
important role in making sure the ofce runs smoothly.
Appointment schedules must be made and followed.
Patients’ electronic medical records (EMR)/electronic
health records (EHR) along other privileged information must be accurately and securely maintained. Systems
must be in place to ensure that the ofce has a steady ow
of income and that it provides high-quality care. This
includes insuring that equipment is kept in good working
order and needed supplies are on hand at all times.
C
O
G
Computers are vital to the daily operation of a medical ofce. You will utilize the computer for almost every
function in the ofce including, but not limited to:
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
computer skills. One of the most important aspects of
computer use in the health care environment is security.
There are steps that must be followed and maintained
to ensure privileged information is protected. First, keep
all computer passwords secure. Do not share your password with anyone. If you must record your password,
never leave it out where others can view it.
THE OFFICE COMPUTER
SYSTEM
Electronic health records
Preparing letters and memos
Scheduling patient appointments
Processing insurance claims
Posting charges and payments to patients’ accounts
Ensuring lab results are available for the physician
Ordering and charting physician prescribed medications
As you can see, being a medical assistant requires good
EHR/EMR
HHS
HIPAA
POL
Plug your computer into a surge protector instead of
r
directly into the electrical outlet. Without surge protection, changes in the ofce’s power supply could
damage the computer’s parts.
Your computer should have a battery backup power
r
source. This will prevent loss of data in the effort of
a power outage.
Your ofce computer should be cleaned regularly.
r
Follow these steps:
Remove any CDs, DVDs, or ash drives and close
all programs that are running.
Shut down the CPU and turn off the monitor.
Clean the monitor screen with antistatic wipes. Do
not use a regular glass cleaner.
Turn the keyboard face down so any loose debris
can fall out. Do not shake or tap the keyboard.
Use a can of compressed air to blow the remaining
dust and particles from under the keyboard’s keypads.
QI
SSL
Electronic Tablet
Many physicians and ofce staff use handheld devices
such as tablets. Information can be entered with a stylus or on a small keyboard. The physician can use this
device to send information to the main system and
receive information from it. Figure 3-1 shows a physician using a handheld tablet device, which can be used
to access the Internet or the practice software system to
review patient data.
Some ofces use this system to send messages to and
from the physician regarding patient care. These are
Computer Care
Computers are key pieces of administrative equipment. Computers do require special attention, however. Here are some guidelines for taking care of your
computer.
Keep your computer in a cool, dry area out of direct
r
sunlight. Excess heat and humidity can damage its
parts.
Keep computers away from magnets.
r
Do not eat or drink while working at the computer.
r
Figure 3-1 Doctor using handheld tablet. (Image from
Shutterstock.com.)
Chapter 3 Medical Ofce Procedures 57
often referred to as tasks. Here are some other things a
physician or staff can do with their handhelds:
Access patients’ charts.
r
View nancial data.
r
Access medical and pharmacy information.
r
View procedures, x-rays, and labs.
r
The Intranet
An intranet is an internal business system that gives you
quick access to company information including:
Policy and procedure manuals
r
Common ofce forms
r
Phone lists
r
Staff schedules
r
Ofce newsletters or job postings
r
Agendas for upcoming meetings
r
Local hospital information
r
Support for videoconferencing
r
Links to other departments; like human relations and
r
educational opportunities
Computer Scheduling
Scheduling patients by computer is more efcient than
using a paper appointment book. User-friendly scheduling software helps you nd open appointment times
more quickly. It also lets you make changes more easily.
Good scheduling software should perform the following
functions:
Show which days of the week tend to be busiest or the
r
slowest and which have the most canceled appointments; this information can help schedule staff more
efciently.
Track the activity of providers; for example, one phy-
r
sician may average 45 minutes per patient. Another
may average 30 minutes. This kind of information
can help you in scheduling appointments.
Track the time patients wait in the reception area or
r
an examination room; long waiting times can show a
need for better procedures or more staff.
Insurance Submission
Software programs are used to send claims via the computer’s modem or cable lines to the patient’s health
insurance company. Filing claims this way results in
faster payment. It also allows you to track the progress
of claims better and identify any problems that could
cause a delay in payment.
Other insurance programs perform other functions,
such as:
Allow you to check that the patient is eligible for
r
coverage.
Provide preapproval of certain procedures and hospi-
r
tal admissions.
Help you properly code health care services when
r
submitting claims for insurance.
Federal law now requires that nearly all insurance
claims be submitted by computer.
Offer an unlimited comment area near the patient’s
r
name; this lets you add special reminder notes for the
appointment—for instance, “Patient wants a pregnancy test.”
Keep a list of patients who want to move their appoint-
r
ments if a more suitable one becomes available.
Print notices to remind patients that they need to
r
make appointments; for example, the program could
be set to alert patients who regularly have an annual
Pap smear that it’s time to make an appointment.
Specic types of appointment software can connect to
the appointment software of other ofces. This is useful
if a patient needs to be seen by a health care provider in
another ofce. You can make the patient an appointment
with the other provider without having to call his or her
ofce. Some software allows patients to schedule their
own appointments using the Internet. This convenience
can result in fewer calls to the ofce and happier patients.
Patient Tracking
Software programs are designed to help the ofce run
more efciently by tracking the ow of patients. Here
are just of few of the things this software can do:
Financial Management
A large number of programs can help you with the
ofce’s nances. Some of them track accounts receivable
(money that’s owed to the ofce) and accounts payable
(money the ofce owes to others). Other programs will
gure what each patient owes and prepare the bills the
ofce mails out each month. Here are some examples of
even more nancial software:
Some programs alert you when a patient’s account is
r
seriously past due. They even have form letters that
you can send to demand payment.
Some software accepts and automatically depos-
r
its insurance payments directly in the ofce’s
bank account. This saves you from having to handle, record, process, and deposit these payments
yourself.
Special software will let the ofce take payments by
r
credit card. Some patients will want to pay what they
owe this way.
Always check a patient’s account before having the
computer prepare a collection letter. Collection letters
should be sent only when necessary.
58 Section I General Skills for the Medical Assistant
Other Software
A medical ofce needs a word processing system to run
effectively. This is the software that lets you compose letters,
address envelopes, and prepare other kinds of documents.
Software programs are also available that manage the
ofce payroll and employees’ personnel records.
Some programs can even document that your ofce is
complying with HIPAA—the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act. This federal law requires health care
providers to follow certain rules about patients’ privacy.
Clinical Software
Medical software is not just for ofce administration.
Some programs have valuable clinical uses. Software
assists the delivery of health care, too. Here are just
three examples of what clinical software can do.
Some programs insert lab reports directly into a
r
patient’s chart. This eliminates errors that can occur
when a person records the results in the chart. Most
of these programs also alert the physician when a new
report has been received.
Programs help physicians write prescriptions. This
r
eliminates errors from poor handwriting. Some programs warn the physician if the prescription is not
correct for the patient’s medical condition or with
other drugs the patient is taking.
With some programs, physicians can view x-rays and
r
other tests on the computer. The physician does not
have to wait for the written report. She can judge the
test results herself.
In an effort to encourage physicians to utilize certied EHR technology as an avenue to increase the quality of patients’ care the CMS created Meaningful Use.
CMS denes
EHR technology in a meaningful manner...” (cdc.gov/
ehrmeaningfuluse/introduction.html).
Meaningful Use as “the use of certied
Computer Ethics
Computers aid in the efcient operation of the ofce.
They also make it much easier to gather and provide
information. However, a computer’s usefulness also has
a potential for abuse. Misuse can lead to invasion of
patients’ privacy and other unethical behavior.
Here are some tips for using the ofce computers.
If you follow these guidelines, your computer use will
remain ethical and legal:
Never share your password. Each employee should
r
have his or her own password.
Never use another person’s password to get patient
r
information. If you’re authorized to see this information, ask for a password of your own.
If you can access a lab’s computer to get test results,
r
don’t obtain results on people who are not ofce
patients. For example, suppose that your son had a
test at another doctor’s ofce that was sent to a lab to
which you have access. You shouldn’t look up his test
results, even though he’s your son.
Never leave a patient’s information displayed on the
r
monitor and walk away from a computer. Close the
le before leaving your computer.
Don’t use the ofce computer to surf the Internet for
r
personal reasons. This isn’t appropriate behavior at
work.
Never load any software into your ofce computer
r
unless you have permission. Doing this could cause
conicts with the ofce software as well as other
problems.
Ethical Dilemma
Your ofce has been working short staffed for
months. A new medical assistant has joined the team.
She is eager and willing to help alleviate the work-
load everyone has been enduring. The ofce manager
has not received a password for her and mentions to
you that if you were to share your password just for
a few days so that things could run smoother, she
would not report it. Passwords are linked directly
to the person to whom they are assigned; therefore,
anything that is entered using a specic password
becomes that person’s responsibility.
Case Study
Your ofce has a strict policy on e-mailing of
patient’s
HIPAA compliance, they maintain a policy prohibiting the e-mail of privileged information. Matthew
McNeil, a well-established patient, called to report
that he and his family are out of the country on vacation and he needs a copy of the x-ray report for his
daughter, Sarah, who injured her arm while under
privileged information. As part of their
that care of your ofce physician. He is asking for
the report to be e-mailed to him. While on this family vacation, Sarah was skiing and injured her arm,
and he wants to have the x-ray report to show the
physician where they are vacationing. You explain
your ofce policy to Mr. McNeil and he becomes
very upset. He pleads for you to make an exception,
just this once. He promises not to tell anyone.
Case Questions
A
F
F
try to assist Sarah’s father with his request?
How would you respond to Mr.McNeil
if you were the ofce medical assistant?
Is there anything you might do to
Professional E-mail
It is critical that all correspondence that leaves the medical ofce is professional and appropriate. This includes
all e-mail messages sent. Use these tips to maintain a
professional tone in your e-mail messages:
Follow ofce protocol regarding what can and can’t
r
be e-mailed. As in the case study, it would only take
one e-mail to breach compliance.
Always check your spelling, grammar, and punctua-
r
tion before you send any e-mails. Poor grammar or
incorrect spelling can take away from your message.
Keep messages short and to the point. Remember, you
r
are not entertaining the reader. You are communicating information to him or her.
Avoid colored fonts or cute gures in your e-mails.
r
Imagine your e-mail as a typewritten business letter.
Always ll in the subject line. Give the reader a sense of
r
what your e-mail is about. For example, “Staff meeting
tomorrow,” tells your reader the essence of the message.
Never send an e-mail to the physician about an emer-
r
gency situation. Call or page the physician instead.
Here are some guidelines for using your ofce com-
puter’s e-mail program:
Don’t read e-mails for the physician or other staff that
r
are sent to the ofce’s general e-mail address. Each staff
member should have his or her own ofce e-mail address.
You should forward the e-mail to that person’s address.
It’s never appropriate to receive personal mail at
r
your ofce e-mail address. It’s also not appropriate to
access your personal e-mail while at work.
Chapter 3 Medical Ofce Procedures 59
Never send sensitive patient information by email
r
unless it has been encrypted. Encryption is a process
of encoding information so that only authorized individuals can view it. This usually involves entering a
special password.
Computer Passwords
Many of the things you’ll do on the computer will
require a password. Here are some guidelines for creating and protecting the passwords you choose:
Combine letters and numbers in each password you
r
create.
Avoid using your name, initials, birth date, phone
r
number, and the word password as passwords.
Do not tape your password on your computer or
r
leave it in your desk.
Change your password from time to time, often sys-
r
tems are set to require that you change your password
at set intervals.
C
O
G
Your ofce probably can connect to the Internet. Most
medical ofces can. The Internet can be helpful to the
ofce in a number of ways. It provides quick access
to information such as medications; you could look
to ensure that you are spelling a medication correctly
or verify dosage, side effects, and other valuable information. It also provides a way to locate the name and
phone number to other physicians, hospitals, or physical therapy centers. Remember to limit computer use to
approved use only. Do not send personal e-mails, play
games, or use social media while on your work computer.
INTERNET BASICS
Internet Research
The Internet is a great tool for researching topics in the
medical ofce. Table 3-1 is a list of some common sites
that might have relative information required in the ofce.
Table 3-1
Site Internet Address Description
American Medical Association (AMA)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
CINAHL Information Systems
NLM Gateway
PubMed Central
Basic Medical Sources on the Internet
www.ama-assn.org Contains information on many subjects related to
the practice of medicine
www.cdc.gov Offers information on a variety of health care topics
www.cinahl.com Includes articles for nurses and other allied health
care professionals
gateway.nlm.nih.gov Connects users with 18 different collections of
medical information
pubmedcentral.nih.gov Contains thousands of articles on many health
care subjects from different journals
60 Section I General Skills for the Medical Assistant
Occasionally, the physician will ask the medical
assistant to provide patient education materials to
the patients. Here is a list of Internet resources that
have a vast amount of information that can be used
to develop patient education training materials, or
the patient may be referred to the site for additional
information.
American Dental Association: www.ada.org/public/
r
index.asp
American Sleep Apnea Association: www.sleepapnea.
r
org
Consumer health information: www.health.nih.gov
r
Health information for seniors: www.nihseniorhealth.
r
gov
MedlinePlus: www.medlineplus.gov
r
Merck Manual: www.merckhomeedition.com
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National Attention Decit Disorder Association:
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www.add.org
Smoking cessation: www.QuitNet.org
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Sources for children with cancer: www.cancersource
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kids.com
Travel health: www.cdc.gov/travel
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General health: mayoclinic.com
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Financial Help on the Internet
Sometimes, patients who are having trouble paying for
their prescriptions can nd help on the Internet. If you
know of such a patient, here are some ways you can
assist:
Tell the patient to visit the home page of the company
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that makes the drug—for example, www.Pzer.com.
Suggest a patient assistance site that can help the
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patient to nd discounted drugs or coupons to help
with the cost, for example, www.needymeds.com.
Patients on Medicare can nd help at www.medicare.
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gov/prescription/home.asp.
Physicians can nd assistance for patients at www.
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Rxhope.com.
Unsecure information—information you ll out on a
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site might be seen by unauthorized people.
Never provide private information to a site that
does not have a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
The SSL scrambles information as it leaves your
computer and unscrambles it when it reaches the
site.
A tiny picture of a lock in your browser’s status bar
shows if a site is secure.
Viruses—can invade your computer and destroy
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your les and software. They are a major security
problem.
Never download information, screen savers, or
other programs onto your computer from suspicious sites.
Only open attachments to e-mail that are sent
by known sources. Attachments from unknown
sources could contain viruses.
Make sure your computer is equipped with virus
protection software. Use the updating service that
most antivirus programs offer.
Firewalls—computer programs or devices that pre-
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vent unauthorized users from accessing private information on your computer’s network through the
Internet.
Firewalls are used to prevent people from gaining
entry to private computer networks from outside
the network.
A rewall builds a list of acceptable Web sites
based on your past use of the computer. Attempts
to access sites not on the list are denied.
Some rewalls limit the type or content of les
your computer can receive.
Figure 3-2 is a sample of what the https and lock symbol would look like when you are accessing a secured
Web site.
C
O
G
The Internet connects you to computers around the
world. This can expose the ofce computer system to
a number of dangers. Here are some dangers and some
guidelines to keep your computer safe and working well.
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COMPUTER SECURITY
Cookies—tiny les that many sites will leave in your
hard drive.
Some cookies track what you do on the Internet
and report it to the site.
You can block cookies by setting limits on them on
your Web browser.
Figure 3-2 Computer security https and lock. (Image
from Shutterstock.com.)