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Q: I'm working in our busy emergency room, I worry about the patient who gets tired of waiting and leaves before I can get to him. If he's really sick, can I be sued for malpractice? A: A patient who leaves on his own accord is terminating the doctor-patient relationship. You and the hospital staff have responsibility and liability for your decisions up to that time. Was triage adequate? How long was the wait? Did nurses check on the patient during the wait? Was there a reasonable explanation for the delay in seeing the patient? In a recent case, a patient waited five hours and then left without being treated. He went to work the next day and died two days later. The defendants were exonerated because, given the patient's presenting symptoms, their judgments were reasonable. Also, routine periodic checks of the waiting room were made and documented, and the delay was unavoidable. Make sure the emergency-room staff is diligent about triage. Lee Johnson has twenty-five years of experience in healthcare law, risk management, claims management, risk malpractice defense litigation and general counsel advice to hospitals and other health care providers. She lectures to physicians, hospitals, bar associations and medical societies; produces internet programs, self-study programs, videos and audiotapes on risk management and the defense of medical malpractice litigation; and writes numerous articles, pamphlets and books on risk management topics. She is a contributor on risk management for Medical Economics magazine. You can learn about her at website. Occ. Med. Central is growing every day. There is so much useful information on the web there is no way we can know nor find it all. That's where you come in. Don't feel limited by our current category list. If you find the item useful, then your colleagues will want to know about it. Click on the "Contribute" button to send us your contribution.  |