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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.
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There are, of course, a number of chart documentation methods and the goals of the various methods are all the same: 1) to memorialize the patient encounter for future reference by other caregivers; 2) to provide information for billing purposes; and 3) to create a legal document that allows quality review whether in the medical setting or in the courtroom.
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Alarmed by continuing deaths and severe adverse reactions after treatment for latent tuberculosis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking funding approval for a national surveillance system to track the events.
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No more needlesticks. That is the ambitious goal set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of its "healthcare safety challenges." But for many hospitals, dramatic reductions in sharps injuries have given way to a stabilizing level or even increases in needlesticks.
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The duty to protect patients from the flu has a very personal meaning at Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston.
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There is much room for improvement for the vast majority of The Joint Commission's standardized national performance measures, according to data reported in Improving America's Hospitals: The Joint Commission's Annual Report on Quality and Safety 2007. A 90% compliance level was achieved for only four of 22 quality-related measures tracked during 2006.
