ED Legal Letter – September 1, 2010

September 1, 2010

• Impaired Health Care Practitioners: Help the Healer Heal Himself

  The abuse of drugs and alcohol is a significant and troubling problem within the medical community.

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• Lawsuit for a Misread of ED Ultrasound? Not Likely

  Given the fact that most emergency medicine residencies now include ultrasound in their training, and the use of ultrasound in EDs is clearly increasing, one obvious liability risk involves misreads of ultrasound examinations performed in the ED.

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• When You Did It and You Documented, but Others' Charting Differs

  This is the second of a two-part series on documentation and ED liability. This month, we cover liability risks when the ED physician or nurse's documentation is inconsistent with documentation by other caregivers. Last month, we reported on the legal risks of inadequate documentation and information that should not be omitted.

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• Stop Psych-related EMTALA Violations

  Kreisman explained that, like any patient presenting to the ED, psychiatry patients are covered under EMTALA. As such, they are subject to the same requirements of an appropriate medical screening, stabilizing treatment, and appropriate transfer.

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• With ED Ultrasound, Credentialing Is at Issue

  One of the major issues currently facing emergency ultrasound is credentialing, according to Leonard Bunting, MD, FACEP, assistant professor of emergency ultrasound at Wayne State University and emergency ultrasound director at St. John Hospital & Medical Center, both located in Detroit, MI.

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