-
Risk management is the process of identifying factors that may be a source of exposure to lawsuits and adverse outcomes.
-
Although some ED physicians remain opposed to the idea of using tPA, the consideration of the use of thrombolytics such as tPA for stroke patients who are eligible candidates has become the public expectation
-
If you aren't going to give tPA and would like to avoid a lawsuit, you'll want to be very clear in your documentation as to why the patient didn't meet treatment criteria. "And if you do give it, you should be very clear why the patient did meet the criteria," says John Burton, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA.
-
Most emergency physicians will be sued during their career. Lawsuits can lead to interpersonal difficulties, loss of job satisfaction, and emotional distress. An understanding of the malpractice process and ways to reduce risk can help emergency physicians deal with this ever present threat.
-
"Why didn't my grandmother see a neurologist immediately in the ED?" is a question that may arise in the event of a malpractice lawsuit involving stroke care.
-
"It's too bad someone didn't give you thrombolytics, because you probably wouldn't be paralyzed now." Whether it's a nurse, doctor, or someone else making that statement to a stroke patient cared for in your ED, you could end up named in a lawsuit.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.