ED Legal Letter – June 1, 2010
June 1, 2010
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ED Handoffs: Patient Safety at Stake in Transition from ED to Inpatient
The practice of emergency medicine is unique in that an emergency medicine physician acts as a gatekeeper: while treatment of a patient may be brief, initial examination and assessment will often dictate the course of the patient's treatment after admission to the hospital. -
Will Jury View ED 'Boarded' Care as Substandard?
Your ED patient's bad outcome might have nothing to do with the fact that he or she was held in the hallway while awaiting an inpatient bed. However, it could impact the outcome of subsequent litigation against the ED. -
Does a Lawyer Claim You Failed to Order Diagnostic Tests?
The use of high-tech diagnostic imaging in EDs has quadrupled since the mid-1990s, says a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -
Lawsuits for Needless Tests? It's Possible
If a CT scan of your ED patient isn't medically necessary, can the patient sue you for ordering one? -
Lower Risk of Missed Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Misdiagnosis of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in the ED has been reported to occur in a significant proportion of cases, due in part to a wide spectrum of presentations and subtle initial signs.