-
If there was the potential for a better outcome if a patient was transferred, and the patient was harmed and can show that you breached the standard of care, a successful lawsuit could result, says Michael Blaivas, MD, RDMS, professor of emergency medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Northside Hospital Forsyth in Cumming, GA.
-
Today, it is standard practice for attorneys to do an Internet search on any adverse party and witness, according to Robert D. Kreisman, a medical malpractice attorney with Kreisman Law Offices in Chicago.
-
A lawsuit involving a terrible outcome, but good emergency department (ED) care, seemed "very defensible" to Matthew Rice, MD, JD, FACEP, former senior vice president and chief medical officer at Northwest Emergency Physicians of TEAMHealth in Federal Way, WA. Rice was about to recommend that the hospital vigorously defend the case, but it never got to that point.
-
-
The patient asks, "Is it safe to take?" You pause, thinking, the FDA classifies it as a Category C, and everybody seems to use it, but how can anybody be sure? So, you finally respond, "It has been used a lot in pregnant patients and no harmful effects have been observed." But, you say to yourself, am I really confident? What would I do for myself or my spouse if in the same situation?
-
If you forget to tell an inpatient nurse that your ED patient has an allergy or was given a certain medication, the consequences could be dire.
-
-
Emergency physicians (EPs) often are called upon to perform a myriad of procedures. These procedures often are invasive and can carry a significant amount of risk. Recent studies have emphasized that EPs should routinely use ultrasound to help guide common procedures performed in the emergency department (ED).
-
According to a recent study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, thorough hand washing might be the most cost-effective way to reduce the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the ED.
-
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections are on the rise, with an estimated 500,000 cases in hospitals and nursing homes each year and increased mortality rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).