Which of the following is considered an intentional tort in emergency medical services?

Abandonment is considered an intentional tort in emergency medical services because it implies a deliberate decision to leave a patient without necessary care after a patient-provider relationship has been established. In the context of emergency medical services, when an EMT is engaged with a patient, they have an obligation to provide care and to ensure the continuation of that care until a suitable alternative is found or the patient is safely transferred to another healthcare provider. Intentionally abandoning a patient—meaning terminating care without proper justification or without the consent of the patient—can lead to significant harm and is viewed as a willful act, thus classifying it as an intentional tort.

Understanding abandonment as an intentional tort underscores the importance of duty of care in EMS, and reinforces why EMTs must take precautions to avoid leaving a patient during a critical period. The other choices, while serious concerns in medical practice, pertain more to negligence and breaches of duty rather than intentional acts. Negligence deals with a failure to act according to the standard of care, informed consent relates to the obligation to communicate effectively with patients, and a privacy violation would involve breaches of confidentiality but do not carry the intentional aspect of abandonment.