Patient abuse comes in many different forms, but there is an underlying commonality: the mistreatment or neglect of an individual who is under the care of a health care organization defines patient abuse (Pozgar, 2016). Unfortunately, one does not need to look far to find cases of patient abuse in the U.S. These cases can involve an individual of any age, but we must be most concerned about child and elder abuse because these populations are categorically dependent upon others. In …show more content…
One that is involved in patient care should be on the lookout for any of the following, unexplained injuries, lack of basic necessities, poor hygiene, withdrawal from usual activities, unexplained STDs, unusual or aggressive behavior (Traxler, MD, 2017). If a provider, family member, or even a bystander witnesses these signs of abuse, he or she should report it immediately. In fact, across the country, nearly every single health care worker is duty bound, which is the same as legally bound, to report suspected (Pozgar, 2016). Failure, as a provider, to report abuse has different penalties throughout the country, but it is clear that the law takes patient abuse quite serious. In addition, in nearly all states, there are laws in place that indemnify the reporting person from civil penalty if he or she reported in good faith, which should only ever be the right thing to do (Pozgar, 2016). Unfortunately, not all abuse, or even poor care is reported by patients, or even at