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Auto Brewery Syndrome

What is ABS? Auto brewery syndrome is a rare condition in which the gastrointestinal system produces ethanol through fermentation by fungi or bacteria in the gut. Normal digestion does produce some ethanol, but this process can become pathologic, producing so much that blood alcohol levels are detected. People with ABS can exhibit signs and symptoms Read More...

Patient Safety: Policies (Part II)

Policies should be in place to help providers make decisions about impaired patients. The legal matters to consider in developing a policy are breach of confidentiality (Part I, last week), duty to warn, duty to report, and authority to detain (Part II, today). Duty to warn Taken from tort law, this refers to the failure of Read More...

Patient Safety: Policies (Part I)

Policies should be in place to help providers make decisions about impaired patients. The legal matters to consider in developing a policy are breach of confidentiality (Part I, today), duty to warn, duty to report, and authority to detain (Part II, next week). Breach of confidentiality The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Read More...

Patient Safety: Documentation

One of the most important actions for medical providers in the situation described last week is meticulous and frequent documentation of every interaction with the patient. All treatment, instructions, evaluations, physical observations, and advice not to leave must be clearly documented in the records. In the New York case, scrupulous documentation was extremely helpful to the defense. Read More...

Patient Safety: Intoxication Case Scenario

In July, our monthly topic was a typical scenario that a patient will go through when they call 911. This month, we are going to see what happens when a severely intoxicated patient comes into the hospital and what the responsibility of the healthcare providers is in terms of patient safety. We will investigate the legal Read More...