ED Legal Letter – November 1, 2009

November 1, 2009

• Patients Who Leave AMA: Understand Your Risks and Responsibilities

  Emergency practitioners should be aware of the risks that the AMA patient may present, as well as their responsibilities to limit their liability and ensure the patient's best care.

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• Special Report: The Duty to Warn Third Parties in Emergency Medicine

  The confidential nature of the therapeutic relationship between physician and patient is an integral component of the practice of medicine. The landmark Tarasoff case established a legal duty for a physician to breach this confidential relationship to warn third parties from foreseeable violence.

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• If You Apologize, Are You Likely to Be 'On the Hook' for a Lawsuit?

  This is the first in a two-part series on disclosing errors to emergency department patients. This month, we cover whether liability risks are, in fact, decreased by this practice. Next month, we will give specific strategies to reduce liability risks when apologizing to a patient.

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