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Is your ED considering screening out non-critical patients by giving medical screening examinations (MSEs), as required by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), then giving patients a choice of seeing a primary care doctor or paying a fee?
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Lawsuits related to treatment delays in EDs aren't limited to patients in the lobby who are waiting to be seen, says Andrew Garlisi, MD, MPH, MBA, VAQSF, medical director for Geauga County EMS in Chardon, OH.
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Many medical conditions aren't possible to diagnose without appropriate cardiorespiratory monitoring, vital sign reassessments, and diagnostic testing, and these are "disasters waiting to happen," warns Andrew Garlisi, MD, MPH, MBA, VAQSF, medical director for Geauga County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and co-director of University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center's chest pain center in Chardon, OH.
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Foreign body ingestion is a common problem, especially in children younger than 3 years of age. Fortunately, most cases have uneventful outcomes, but the potential for a devastating complication exists. Button batteries are particularly dangerous, and timely and appropriate management is critical. This article comprehensively reviews pediatric foreign body ingestions.
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Classically, pneumonia is defined as an infection of the lung parenchyma. However, worldwide, a variety of definitions exist, including fever, hypoxia, a constellation of other clinical symptoms, and radiologic findings. In pediatric and adolescent populations, early diagnosis will assist emergency department (ED) physicians with correctly managing and subsequently avoiding potential morbidity and mortality of this common infectious disease.
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Penetrating abdominal trauma (PAT) has the potential to be a devastating injury and ranks in the top 15 causes of death for all ages. This article will define the problem of PAT and review the initial management, including the ability to identify, resuscitate, and initiate treatment in patients with unstable PAT prior to their transfer to the operating room (OR).
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Approximately one in five of children evaluated in the emergency department (ED) are physically abused. Emergency physicians (EPs) have a responsibility to consider abuse in the differential of every injured child.
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If a lawsuit is filed alleging malpractice in your ED, the only thing worse for your defense than not having a policy covering an important subject might be having one but failing to adhere to it.
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Ryan R. Domengeaux, JD, vice president of risk management at Schumacher Group in Lafayette, LA, says, "Policies and procedures are not only driven by statutory requirements, they are also necessary to memorialize service expectations."
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If a boy is brought to an emergency department after being injured in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident while at a friend's house, do triage nurses wait to get in touch with the parents before treating him?
