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Emergency Clinicians More Worried About Patient Harm Than Lawsuits
In a survey of more than 1,200 ED attending physicians and advanced practice clinicians, respondents indicated they are more concerned about doing what is right for their patients (i.e., shielding them from harm and preventing poor outcomes) as opposed to focusing only on defensive medicine to prevent future litigation.
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Tactics to Improve Diagnostic Performance When Caring for Older Adults
Experts in diagnostics and elder care recently discussed the unique challenges of coming to a correct diagnosis for older patients and how healthcare providers can improve their performance.
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Patients with Nonspecific, Atypical Symptoms Could Be Misdiagnosed
An emergency medicine professor explains how providers can reduce risks for ED patients who present with unusual symptoms.
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Harsh Criticism for New Report on ED Diagnostic Errors
New research that might have injected renewed vigor into improving diagnostic performance in the ED has instead prompted much uproar. In the emergency medicine community, that discussion has been overshadowed by biting criticism about the data and the methodologies investigators used to reach their conclusions — and what some are calling unfair blame placed at the foot of emergency providers.
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Congress Formally Ends X-Waiver Requirement
Lawmakers remove this barrier to treating opioid use disorder.
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Malpractice Lawsuits Allege Wrongful Prolongation of Life
The top problems in these cases are charting and communication among caregivers.
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Multiple Legal Issues with ED End-of-Life Care
An attorney argues missing the opportunity to respect autonomy in care decision-making for a patient who no longer desires curative care should be considered a poor outcome.
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Some ED Patients Undergo Unwanted End-of-Life Care
Despite uncertainty, it is possible to provide value-concordant care in the ED. Identify those patients, and initiate decisions based on goals of care, not just by a default reflexive pathway. This could help improve patients’ experiences and outcomes broadly, by targeting the right treatments to the right patients.
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To Understand a Patient’s Housing Status, Ask the Right Questions
Staff at every point of contact should be alert to relevant patient needs, including housing status, food insecurity, and ability to pay. All these go into making medicine human.
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Effectively Intervening with Patients Facing Housing Instability
There is a moral and humanitarian case for healthcare organizations to engage on the housing issue, but there also is a business case.