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You are working one evening, and the EMS dispatch center calls. The ambulance is bringing in a 35-year-old male motor vehicle collision victim who is unresponsive and has a BP of 80 palpable. So, what happens next in your emergency department? Who do you assemble? What equipment do you gather? Do you call the blood bank and the operating room?
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The dangers of sleep deprivation and fatigue can no longer be ignored.
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In a series of questionable decisions, a California federal court allowed a plaintiff to bring a "failure-to-screen" claim under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) against a hospital for what was really an ordinary state malpractice claim for "failure to diagnose," and then held that California's $250,000 damages cap wouldn't apply because the EMTALA claim was not a "professional negligence" claim as contemplated by the state's tort reform law - the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).
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This story concludes a two-part series on liability risks of boarding admitted patients in the ED. This month, we report on the problem of EDs providing an unequal level of care compared to what patients would have gotten on inpatient units.
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Emergency departments pour a lot of resources into compliance with the Joint Commission's standards, including the National Patient Safety Goals. But is there any evidence that compliance with The Joint Commission standards decreases liability risks for an emergency department?
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Concussions, also known as mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), create challenges for the emergency care provider.
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Procedural sedation is an important tool for the emergency department physician, especially when faced with a child who requires a painful procedure. The ability to adequately address the pain and anxiety of the child and safely complete the procedure is rewarding to both the physician and the family of the child.
