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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2024
ReviewReview article: Patients who leave before care is completed: What does the legal duty to warn mean for emergency department clinicians?
- Michael Eburn, Tina Cockburn, and Anne-Maree Kelly.
- Centre for Law and Justice, Charles Sturt University, Canberra, New South Wales, Australia.
- Emerg Med Australas. 2024 Jun 1; 36 (3): 336339336-339.
AbstractPatients leave ED for a variety of reasons and at all stages of care. In Australian law, clinicians and health services owe a duty of care to people presenting to the ED for care, even if they have not yet entered a treatment space. There is also a positive duty to warn patients of material risks associated with their condition, proposed treatment(s), reasonable alternative treatment options and the likely effect of their healthcare decisions, including refusing treatment. This extends to a decision to leave the ED before care is completed. The form of that warning may vary based on what is known about the patient's condition and the associated risks at the time. Specific documentation of warnings given is essential.© 2024 The Authors. Emergency Medicine Australasia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.
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