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Some EDs are charging uninsured patients upfront fees for problems deemed nonemergent, with 88% of EDs reporting an increase in the number of self-pay patients seen in 2012, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
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If a patient leaves your emergency department (ED) before the results of any test ordered by the emergency physician (EP) are back, the EP still has an ethical and legal responsibility to the patient to utilize those results in directing their care, unless the EP has passed that patients care on in a very clear manner, according to Robert Suter, DO, MHA, professor of emergency medicine at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX.
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Did an emergency physician (EP) have a telephone consult without requesting that the specialist see or examine the patient?
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Approximately 5% of patients presenting to EDs have neurological symptoms such as headache, dizziness, back pain, weakness, and seizure disorder, but little is known about the factors that led to misdiagnoses of neurological emergencies in the ED, according to a 2012 review of studies.1
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Patients signature can help defense only to a point.
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Plaintiffs cant argue with time-stamped entries.
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Increased liability risks are top of mind for many emergency physicians (EPs) due to the possibility of increased volumes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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Joint Commission rules could come up during malpractice suits
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Case could turn on whether efforts are documented.
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