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Your ED patient's bad outcome might have nothing to do with the fact that he or she was held in the hallway while awaiting an inpatient bed. However, it could impact the outcome of subsequent litigation against the ED.
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The practice of emergency medicine is unique in that an emergency medicine physician acts as a gatekeeper: while treatment of a patient may be brief, initial examination and assessment will often dictate the course of the patient's treatment after admission to the hospital.
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Was an abnormal lab result missed, such as a potassium level of 2.5? Was an incorrect medication prescribed? Or was a radiology study misinterpreted which revealed a pneumothorax? In every one of these scenarios, it is necessary for the ED physician to call the patient...
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Your daughter calls you from a party and tells you that she is on her way home. Two hours later, she hasn't arrived and she does not answer her cell phone. You call the emergency department (ED) and ask if she is registered as a patient there.
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To reduce legal risks, Linda M. Stimmel, JD, a partner with the Dallas, TX-based law firm of Stewart Stimmel, says the best strategy is to "show diligence." Document your ED's efforts to provide adequate staffing and educate staff and physicians on improved triage techniques, such as attendance logs on inservices to improve triage.
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This is a two-part series on liability risks involving ED triage processes. This month, we cover the impact of wait times on ED lawsuits, and ways to reduce risks during long wait times.
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Imagine being sued by a patient for an alleged act of malpractice, but evidence is introduced in the courtroom that leads the jury to believe another practitioner not yourself is the one who is truly at fault.
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Some EDs are now offering online updates on current wait times, with the stated expectation that patients will use this information to make better decisions on where to go for care.
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Whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) ends upon admission or extends indefinitely until the admitted patient is eventually discharged or transferred has been debated by the courts, government agencies, and EMTALA pundits for years without definitive resolution.
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Emergency departments pour a lot of resources into compliance with the Joint Commission's standards, including the National Patient Safety Goals. But is there any evidence that compliance with The Joint Commission standards decreases liability risks for an emergency department?