Emergency Department Management & Law
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Delayed Care, Misdiagnoses Still Happening, Regardless of COVID-19 Surges
Just because there are surges of respiratory patients in the emergency department does not mean there are any fewer stroke, heart attack, or septic patients. There will not be fewer lawsuits, either, if any of these patients receive delayed care or are misdiagnosed.
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No ICU Bed? ED Patients ‘Fall into Black Hole’
In terms of malpractice, the main question is going to be: Did the emergency department (ED) patient receive treatment as fast as he or she should have, given the relevant circumstances? EDs in known COVID-19 hotspots with long waits for intensive care unit beds probably will be treated somewhat differently than smaller community EDs, where it was mostly business as usual.
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Enforcement Action Likely if Hospital Retaliates Against ED Staff
Some emergency department doctors and nurses allege they were disciplined or fired after complaining about inadequate personal protective equipment, or for refusing to treat COVID-19 patients without N95 masks.
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Hospitals Bracing for Litigation from Infected ED Providers
Hospitals expect plenty of litigation from emergency department (ED) providers who have contracted COVID-19, often while working without adequate personal protective equipment. Read on to see some claims that ED nurses, ED staff, or emergency physicians may bring against hospitals.
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Long-Standing Gross Negligence Standards for ED Malpractice
Some states enacted stringent standards for asserting medical malpractice claims against emergency department providers long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiff attorneys occasionally argue in medical malpractice cases that gross negligence occurred, but tough state laws can make it hard to prove.
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Many Future ED Malpractice Claims Will Need to Survive Gross Negligence Standard
Enacted protections offer emergency department providers some immunity from liability, except for gross negligence and willful and wanton conduct. This leaves plaintiffs’ attorneys with just one option for pursuing a medical negligence case.
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A Framework Designed to Generate Transparency, Teamwork, Trust, and Calm
Considering the demand for leaders’ attention has been stretched thin during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a simple framework administrators can leverage to help them stay attuned to the big picture.
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What the Quality Improvement Community Brings to the Table During a Pandemic
Healthcare providers around the world are relying on innovation to help their organizations survive the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis that has brought with it unprecedented challenges and complexity. Some structure is needed to curate the best ideas and ensure they are shared widely.
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Nurse Practitioners Pitch in to Meet Urgent COVID-19 Care Needs for Minorities
There have been widespread reports about how the pandemic is adversely affecting minority populations. The extent of this disparity is particularly clear in New Orleans, one of the hotspots for COVID-19.
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Leverage In-House Resources, Work with Outside Labs to Streamline COVID-19 Testing Processes
Expanded testing capacity is crucial to fully understanding how broad the COVID-19 problem is in the United States. But how can providers reach that goal if there are not enough tests?