Emergency medicine clinics of North America
-
This article focuses on confidentiality and capacity issues affecting patients receiving care in the emergency department. The patient-physician relationship begins with presumed confidentiality. ⋯ This article then discusses risk management issues relevant to determining a patient's capacity to accept or decline medical care in the emergency department setting. Situations pertaining to refusal of care and discharges against medical advice are examined in detail, and best practices for mitigating risk in informed consent and barriers to consent are reviewed.
-
Burnout is a work-related condition. Although stress may be a part of emergency medicine, excessive levels of chronic stress can lead to maladaptive behaviors and burnout. ⋯ Efforts can then be made to identify modifiable or unnecessary sources of stress to help reduce chronic stress and burnout. Solutions should be found to eliminate or ameliorate individual-level and system-level sources of stress.