Academic Medicine

Medical Error Prevention, Analysis, and Common Areas

According to the Institute of Medicine Report, there is substantial evidence that 1 in every 10 diagnoses is wrong. To improve the quality of healthcare and patient safety, physicians should know the causes of medical errors (cognitive, system-related, overconfidence) how…

HIV Diagnosis and Treatment: What Should You Know?

The CDC estimates that almost 50,000 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections occur each year, approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. are infected with the virus, and approximately 20% of those people infected are unaware of their…

Maternal and Newborn Levels of Care & Transport Implications

A current imbalance in the our perinatal care system has led to inappropriate, unsafe, and lack of transports in clinically relevant patients, as well as, risk of costly EMTALA violations by hospitals and physicians. In an effort to encourage safe…

External Fetal Monitoring Case Study #7: Levels of Care and Transport

Inappropriate, unsafe, or lack of transport when clinically indicated increases medical-legal risk to obstetricians and hospitals. Early identification of a perinatal patient (mother or fetus) requiring transport to a higher level of care improves outcomes. In 2015, ACOG & SMFM…

When is a Patient Not a Patient? The Legal Physician-Patient Relationship

How is the legal relationship between health care practitioners and patients defined? The relationship is primarily based in contract law and highly dependent on an analysis of specific facts and state law. In some cases, the law may define a…