Emergency Medicine - Adult and Pediatric
RSSArticles
-
ED Legal Letter - Full February 1, 2014 Issue in PDF
-
"If the EP Had Only Told Me" Is Consultant's Likely Defense
"If the EP had only told me, I would have come right in and admitted the patient," is what a consultant is almost certain to claim if named in a lawsuit resulting from a bad outcome that occurred after a patient was discharged from the ED. -
Wisconsin Court Rules On-call Physician with Privileges is an 'Employee' of the Hospital for Purposes of EMTALA Whistleblower Enforcement
Two years ago, a Texas court, in the case of Dr. Zawislak v. Memorial Hermann Hospital, determined that emergency physicians were "employees" of the hospital for determining whether they could sue the hospital under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act's (EMTALA) whistleblower provision for retaliatory termination (see the February 2012 ED Legal Letter). -
EPs Can Protect Themselves Legally From 'Problem' Patients
An inebriated frequent emergency department (ED) patient, discharged after a cursory examination and no treatment, was found dead in the hospital's parking lot a few hours later. -
Legal Risks for EPs Who Fail to Obtain a Consult
Failure to obtain specialist consultation is one of the main recurring themes Ken Zafren, MD, FAAEM, FACEP, has seen over the years in reviewing medical malpractice claims against emergency physicians (EPs) as an expert witness. -
Text message program improves outcomes, decreases ED utilization among ED patients with poorly controlled diabetes
Diabetic patients who lack access to primary care tend to frequent the ED, often with complications from their disease that could have been prevented with proper management and education. -
Hospitals leverage nursing staff, IT tools to reach out to patients following discharge from the ED
Hospital and ED administrators have found that initiating patient contact shortly after discharge from the ED can positively impact patient satisfaction while also offering opportunities to improve patient compliance with care instructions and to intervene early if complications arise. While some hospitals still rely on manual calls to patients, others are initiating contact through email and text messages. -
Embedded crisis workers help to decompress ED, connect mental health and addiction medicine patients with needed resources
To manage a big spike in demand from patients seeking emergency care for mental health (MH) and addiction medicine concerns, staff from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Mercy and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC have devised a series of interventions aimed at quickly linking these patients with the care and resources they need. -
Emergency Medicine Reports - Full February 9, 2014 Issue in PDF
-
Tick-borne Illness in the ED: Part I
Lyme disease is the most common vector disease. It often presents with erythema chronicum migrans in its earliest and most treatable stage.