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COPYRIGHT 2005 A Thomson Healthcare Company
Reduce risks when patients come back to the ED
Don't miss a second chance to get it right
When a young man with a lap belt injury from a motor vehicle accident returned to the ED reporting nausea and vomiting, he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis — despite visible bruises on his abdomen from the belt and an elevated white blood cell count.
On the third visit — more than a week after the accident — his peritonitis and bowel injury finally were detected. The delay resulted in the need for a colostomy — and a lawsuit against the ED physicians and triage nurses. The case still is in litigation.
When a patient returns to your ED within a few days after initially being seen complaining of the same or similar symptoms, questions may be raised about the adequacy of care, says Stephen A. Frew, JD, vice president and risk consultant with Johnson Insurance Services, a Madison, WI-based company specializing in...
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