Minimizing the legal risk with 'curbside' consultation.

"Curbside consultations"--in which a physician obtains insights on a medical case from another physician who has not seen the patient or reviewed the record--can yield advantages to the requesting physician. However, shortcomings are inherent in this common type of exchange and pose legal risk to the curbside consultant. This article provides background and practical tips that might help avoid being caught up in a lawsuit by surprise, or if named as a party, avoid being held culpable when the only involvement was a brief conversation with a colleague.

Patient misidentification in a pediatric emergency department: patient safety and legal perspectives.

Emergency departments across the nation are faced with ever-increasing high volumes, overcrowding, and patient acuity. Along with these growing trends, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is instituting new patient safety initiatives to reduce patient medical errors in the hospital setting. The emergency department is one area under great scrutiny with patient identification as primary concern. This article discusses a case study involving patient misidentification in the pediatric emergency department and reviews the legal and safety programs implemented at a children's hospital to improve patient safety outcomes.