Emergency practitioners should be aware of the risks that the AMA patient may present, as well as their responsibilities to limit their liability and ensure the patient's best care.
The confidential nature of the therapeutic relationship between physician and patient is an integral component of the practice of medicine. The landmark Tarasoff case established a legal duty for a physician to breach this confidential relationship to warn third parties from foreseeable violence.
This is the first in a two-part series on disclosing errors to emergency department patients. This month, we cover whether liability risks are, in fact, decreased by this practice. Next month, we will give specific strategies to reduce liability risks when apologizing to a patient.
Eye trauma is a common chief complaint among emergency department (ED) pediatric patients. Although many eye injuries can be prevented by appropriate supervision of children's activities and the appropriate use of protective eyewear, eye injuries remain an important cause of visual loss in children.
World-wide, ectopic pregnancy occurs in approximately 1-2% of pregnant women. Although it likely is underreported, according to CDC data covering 1970-1989, there was nearly a four-fold increase in the incidence of ectopic pregnancy, from 4.5/1000 to 16.0/1000 of all reported pregnancies.
