Patient care on the ramp: Who is legally responsible?

Emerg Med Australas

Joseph Epstein Centre for Emergency Medicine Research at Western Health, Sunshine Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Published: December 2024

Ambulance ramping, the delay to transfer of a patient arriving at an ED by ambulance into an ED treatment space and handover of care to ED clinicians, is a problem in all Australian states and territories and New Zealand. It is a symptom of ED overcrowding and access block and has been associated with adverse health outcomes for some patient groups. The questions arise, who might be legally responsible for the care of patients who are ramped and does their physical location matter? The short answers are 'everyone' and 'no', however, whether there will be a breach of duty depends on the reasonableness of responses and resource allocation considerations.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.14541DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

patient care
4
care ramp
4
ramp legally
4
legally responsible?
4
responsible? ambulance
4
ambulance ramping
4
ramping delay
4
delay transfer
4
transfer patient
4
patient arriving
4

Similar Publications

A Unified Approach to Health Data Exchange: A Report From the US DHHS.

JAMA

January 2025

Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Washington, DC.

Importance: Health information technology, such as electronic health records (EHRs), has been widely adopted, yet accessing and exchanging data in the fragmented US health care system remains challenging. To unlock the potential of EHR data to improve patient health, public health, and health care, it is essential to streamline the exchange of health data. As leaders across the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), we describe how DHHS has implemented fundamental building blocks to achieve this vision.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pharmacologic Management of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) in Older Adults.

Drugs Aging

January 2025

Program for the Care and Study of the Aging Heart, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 420 East 70th St, New York, NY, LH-36510063, USA.

There are several pharmacologic agents that have been touted as guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, it is important to recognize that older adults with HFpEF also contend with an increased risk for adverse effects from medications due to age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of medications, as well as the concurrence of geriatric conditions such as polypharmacy and frailty. With this review, we discuss the underlying evidence for the benefits of various treatments in HFpEF and incorporate key considerations for older adults, a subpopulation that may be at higher risk for adverse drug events.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Impact of hemoadsorption with CytoSorb® on meropenem and piperacillin exposure in critically ill patients in a post-CKRT setup: a single-center, retrospective data analysis.

Intensive Care Med Exp

January 2025

Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.

Purpose: CytoSorb® (CS) adsorbent is a hemoadsorption filter for extracorporeal blood purification often integrated into continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT). It is primarily used in critically ill patients with sepsis and related conditions, including cytokine storms and systemic inflammatory responses. Up to now, there is no evidence nor recommendation for the use of CS filters in sepsis (22).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an important prognostic factor for rectal cancer. This study aims to introduce a novel cutoff point for CEA within the normal range to improve prognosis prediction and enhance patient stratification in rectal cancer patients.

Methods: A total of 316 patients with stages I to III rectal cancer who underwent surgical tumor resection were enrolled.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This study aimed to create a comprehensive Core Outcome Set (COS) for assessing the long-term outcome (≥ 5 years) after Metabolic Bariatric Surgery (MBS), through the use of the Delphi method.

Methods: The study utilized a three-phase approach. In Phase 1, a long list of items was identified through a literature review and expert input, forming the basis for an online Delphi survey.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!