The Other Side of Risk

 

Last time I posted, the topic was risk tolerance. I tried to make the point that some, perhaps much, of the cost of healthcare is related to how comfortable providers (physicians, nurse practitioners, etc) are with risk. If I am very uncomfortable with risk, then I can certainly spend a great deal of money over turning every rock in search of a diagnosis on behalf of my patient. But, there is another aspect of risk, the externally imposed specter of malpractice lawsuits. Now, I freely admit to some bias in this regard. In a twenty-plus year career as an emergency physician, I have been sued three times. In only one of those cases did I actually see or treat the patient. In one case, I wasn’t even in town when the patient was seen in the emergency department and yet, I somehow was named in the suit and my employer... continue reading...

September 18, 2009 at 2:04 pm | Filed in: Risk
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"Reassuring statements, unless we know them to be true, can backfire."

Dr. Brent King on caring for your team

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