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During the time that emergency medical staff and hospitals have operated under EMTALA, court decisions relating to EMTALA and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have helped to clarify the ramifications of the law.
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Despite modern diagnostic aids, traumatic injuries continue to be missed in the ED.
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Inability to find an attorney who will take a malpractice case on a contingency fee basis. An inability to find an expert who can conclude to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the ED physician breached the standard of care or proximately caused injury/death. Strong defense experts. Strong testimony from defendant physicians. Damaging admissions by the plaintiff's experts at deposition. A decision by the patient or family to resolve the matter now without going through the ordeal of a trial.
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The issue of drug-seeking is important for any health care provider, but can be of particular relevance to emergency department (ED) staff. This article analyzes the laws applicable to assessing and treating pain in the ED setting, and considers various strategies suggested in the literature for managing suspected drug-seeking behavior.
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This is the second of a two-part series on missed myocardial infarction (MI) cases. This month, we cover specific documentation practices which can impact the outcome of a patient's lawsuit alleging a missed myocardial infarction.
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In an ED malpractice lawsuit, "sometimes the strangest things become hot topics of discovery,"...
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The practice of emergency medicine imposes on its providers unique challenges, including the difficulty inherent in following up with a patient who has been evaluated, treated, and then discharged.
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This is the second of a two-part series on error disclosure to emergency department patients. This month, we give specific steps to take before apologizing to a patient.
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An emergency provider, you are driving down a busy interstate when you see an accident occur between two vehicles. Are you required to stop and render aid? Is calling 9-1-1 and continuing on your drive acceptable?
