Emergency physician Edwin Leap asks the following: “Sick patient, worrisome exam, negative studies. So, what do we do?”
Should they impose on already overburdened specialists to come in for another opinion?
From the ED perspective, I believe the answer is yes. Especially when it’s their name on the chart, the specter of a failure to diagnose lawsuit is too much of a risk to ignore.
If a specialist can’t answer the call, an observation admit to ensure the patient doesn’t go south is not unreasonable.
