When an admitted patient is boarded in the ED for extended periods, there may be confusion over who is responsible for the patientis it the ED physician, the hospitalist, the surgical specialist, or the medical specialist?
One legal question is what standard of care the ED would be held to in the event of a lawsuit involving an admitted boarded patient's bad outcome.
Did a surgeon examine your abdominal pain patient, or did a gastroenterologist give a second opinion on a complex issue? Unless this is documented appropriately, the ED physician may be the only one left "on the hook" if a bad outcome occurs.
Fever has been recognized as a symptom of illness for centuries. It is especially concerning when it is associated with a young infant.
Debate exists over the use of certain medications in rapid sequence induction (RSI) for critically ill patients requiring intubation.
