Patient Safety in the Emergency Room

June 12, 2011 (Press-News.org) Anyone can suffer an injury or experience an unexpected condition that requires immediate care. The pressure this creates in emergency rooms and other urgent care facilities is undeniable. Difficult decisions need to be made, and they need to be made quickly.

This does not mean, however, that anything goes in the ER. Doctors and other medical professionals are still bound by established standards of care in how they treat patients. And if those standards are violated by emergency room errors, injured people and their families have a right to bring legal action for medical malpractice.

Gathering Basic Information

Emergency room errors happen to people of all ages. But certain types of patients are particularly vulnerable to the risks involved in seeking care in the high-stress emergency setting.

For example, some patients -- particularly many elderly patients -- often have complicated medical histories that are not easily communicated in the fast-paced environment of the ER. In order to properly treat the symptoms that led to the ER visit, however, doctors should take the time to at least understand the basic elements of a patient's history. That level of due diligence by the doctor is absolutely needed, no matter where care is given.

To be sure, every little nuance of a complex condition cannot be summarized or explained in an urgent care setting. Some things may have to be addressed further by a specialist, after the triage of the ER has occurred.

Still, to engage in proper triage, the treating physician in the ER should have a solid baseline level of information about the patient, beyond the bare facts that are immediately visible. This means that the physician should at least seek to obtain a complete list of medications the patient is on, as well as a complete list of symptoms from which the patient is suffering.

Role of Family or Other Advocate

What do you do in the ER if you believe that medical staff are being careless and failing to base their decisions on sound information? This is where a family member, or some other person close to the patient, can play a crucial role as an advocate for the patient. People who seek care in an emergency setting are often too burdened by health conditions to speak up effectively. But a family member or friend can take on the role of advocate for the patient.

What the role of advocate requires depends entirely on the circumstances of the case. It could involve summarizing the patient's medical history and making sure doctors base their decisions on accurate information. In other cases, it might mean asking questions, so that doctors clarify and communicate what they are doing.

Conclusion

If you have been injured by an emergency room error, or a family member has been injured, contact a medical malpractice attorney in your area. An experienced attorney can review your case and explain your legal options.

Article provided by Furr & Henshaw
Visit us at www.scmedicalmalpractice.com