ED Legal Letter – May 1, 2007

May 1, 2007

• Patient care decision making at end of life: Law lags behind medical advances

  The body of law that deals with end-of-life decision making is hardly settled law. Because the welfare of citizens is largely the concern of individual states, judicial decisions regarding end-of-life issues in health care vary among the states.

  Read more

• Moonlighting residents may risk errors, lawsuits

  Are residents in training who moonlight in emergency departments (EDs) more likely to experience clinical errors and oversights? The answer is a definite "yes," say experts.

  Read more

• Are moonlighting residents more difficult to defend?

  Whenever a resident is sued in a malpractice case, the plaintiff's counsel can label that doctor as a student whose training is incomplete.

  Read more

• When prescribing for a colleague, document

  Writing prescriptions for colleagues or their family members is done commonly by some ED physicians, but this carries significant legal risks.

  Read more

• Missed diagnoses in ED stem from complex causes

  Missed diagnoses in the ED are typically the result of multiple breakdowns in the diagnostic process, with several contributing factors, according to a new study.

  Read more

• Special Report: Inadequate pain management: A growing liability risk

  The appropriate management of pain by medical professionals is becoming an increasingly popular topic of discussion and litigation.

  Read more