ED Legal Letter – March 1, 2008
March 1, 2008
View Issues
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Fumbled Handoffs at Shift Change: A Common Liability Source for Emergency Physicians
Patient handoffs, or turning over a patient's care to another physician, are high-risk encounters in emergency medicine due to the potential for breakdowns in communication. -
Do self-service kiosks leave EDs legally vulnerable?
A small but growing number of EDs are implementing self-service computer kiosks to streamline the triage process. Potential benefits may include improved patient flow and satisfaction, but what are the liability risks of this practice? -
Could EDs be sued for requiring staff to work during disasters?
More than half of nurses surveyed in a San Francisco hospital said they would not report for work if a influenza pandemic hit, and nearly half said they wouldn't report following a denotation of a radioactive bomb or during a smallpox attack. -
Forensic evidence collection: what are your legal obligations?
The ED physician has three obligations to the sexual assault patient, any one of which can potentially lead to liability, according to Howard A. Peth Jr., MD, JD, an attending physician in the department of emergency medicine at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, MO.