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The evidence proving the value of rapid response teams (RRTs) continues to accumulate, with the latest research suggesting that this strategy can improve patient safety in a variety of clinical settings. Proponents of RRTs say risk managers may be missing an opportunity to improve outcomes if you are not using RRTs or formulating a plan to institute them in your own facilities.
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Whether you are interviewing emergency medicine physicians, mid-level providers, or technicians in your ED, certain questions or remarks can get you into legal trouble. What should you avoid saying during the hiring process?
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Recently, over two dozen ED staff members at Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, NJ were suspended for "sneaking a peek" of the medical record of George Clooney, who was being treated for injuries he sustained after a motorcycle accident.
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Not infrequently, parents are reluctant to proceed with medical treatment for their children in the emergency department (ED). When the treatment is clearly indicated, and when parental reluctance progresses to outright refusal, ED physicians are faced with difficult choices.
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How can a misread on an EKG years prior, which led to no immediate negative outcome, be held up at a distant time in the future as malpractice? It doesn't seem right to the practicing ED physician.
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Caring for patients with little privacy other than thin curtains in a crowded emergency department seems to fly in the face of the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). But what are the actual liability risks of this practice?
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With the help of a quarterly bonus system for physicians and staff, one South Carolina surgery center achieved a cost per case (medical supplies, implants, and drugs) of $159 in July 2007, and it has averaged a cost per case of $227 for 2007 at press time.