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You may hear phrases such as "gross negligence" and "willful and wanton misconduct" stated by the media, but these terms also are important for many health providers in that they can limit liability for providing medical care.
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Emergency physician groups have dealt with the realities of claims-made liability coverage for years now, yet many continue to be unpleasantly "surprised" when it comes to their "tail coverage." Tail coverage: allows the insured an extended period of time for the claim to mature or be reported to the insurance company.
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Patient handoffs, or turning over a patient's care to another physician, are high-risk encounters in emergency medicine due to the potential for breakdowns in communication.
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The ED physician has three obligations to the sexual assault patient, any one of which can potentially lead to liability, according to Howard A. Peth Jr., MD, JD, an attending physician in the department of emergency medicine at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, MO.
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More than half of nurses surveyed in a San Francisco hospital said they would not report for work if a influenza pandemic hit, and nearly half said they wouldn't report following a denotation of a radioactive bomb or during a smallpox attack.
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A small but growing number of EDs are implementing self-service computer kiosks to streamline the triage process. Potential benefits may include improved patient flow and satisfaction, but what are the liability risks of this practice?
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Large ED verdicts, all from 2007, may seem to be bellwether cases that portend a change in jury opinions. On the other hand, a recent report says that ED claims have decreased, with claims per 100,000 visits dropping to 3.4 in 2006, down from 5.8 in 2001.
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Guidelines for the management of febrile children dating back to 1993 have complicated liability risks for EDs since they were published, and continue to play a role in ED medical malpractice litigation, says Jim Wilde, MD, director of pediatric emergency medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, who also is fellowship-trained in pediatric infectious diseases.
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The introduction of vaccines that prevent bacteremia has significantly reduced the risk of serious bacterial infections associated with Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae. How does this impact liability risks when caring for febrile children?
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Do you believe that once your patient is evaluated by an on-call consultant in your ED, you are abdicated from any future liability? "ED physicians frequently believe this, but this is absolutely not true," says James Hubler, MD, JD, assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.