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Two of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)'s policies address the issue of who is responsible for inpatients being held in EDs. The October 2007 policy, "Responsibility for Admitted Patients" recognizes that the patient benefits when there is a clear delineation of who is responsible for the patient's care.
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After a lawsuit is filed alleging poor care of a boarded patient is not the time to figure out who was legally responsible.
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Administering medication in the emergency department (ED) or prescribing medication upon discharge exposes the ED physician to liability. When there are resultant complications, side effects, or injury as a result of a medication, lawsuits often are filed. This article will discuss the ED physician's duty to warn and will provide general guidelines on whether a pharmacist or a physician will assume liability in a given situation.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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The nurse had worked almost 17 hours in an "intense double shift" and slept less than six hours before starting her third shift, according to the Risky Business web site.
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Amid the successes in sharps safety in hospitals in the 21st century, there is one glaring gap: the operating room. Sharps injuries there remain as much of a problem as they were in 2000, when the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act was signed into law.
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The Rhode Island Department of Health is fining Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) in Providence $300,000 for what the state says is a pattern of significant surgical errors.
