A number of risk management strategies can help healthcare practitioners manage difficult or noncompliant patients who are under their care. But what about new patients? Initial consultations with new patients present practitioners with a unique opportunity to identify potential signs of noncompliant or difficult behavior.
Read moreThe patient was a 76-year-old male with uncontrolled hypertension and a complex medical and surgical history, including cardiovascular disease with myocardial infarction, hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes, gastroesophageal reflux disease, stent procedures, and colon resection.
Read moreDifficult patients represent one of the most challenging situations that doctors and other healthcare professionals encounter. Dealing with these patients can be emotionally and mentally draining — as well as increasingly frustrating — for practitioners and their staff members.
Read moreTo a certain degree, healthcare providers have the right to choose which patients they want to treat, and a provider may choose to terminate a relationship with a patient who does not comply with treatment regimens or follow-up care recommendations.
Read moreA patient in her late sixties presented to an emergency department (ED) with complaints of right flank pain and shortness of breath. She reported an allergy to Versed®. The initial working diagnosis was kidney stones. Lab work, an abdominal ultrasound, and an abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan were ordered, and the patient was given Demerol®/Phenergan® (50 mg/12.5 mg IV).
Read moreA patient in his mid-twenties with a history of asthma presented to an emergency department (ED) after a drug overdose. He was intubated after multiple difficult attempts. After a 48-hour stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and consults with pulmonology and ENT, the patient was extubated and discharged.
Read moreThe patient, a women in her mid-forties, developed dizziness and vomiting during exercise. Upon presentation to an emergency department (ED), staff noted that the patient was unable to verbally communicate, but she could follow instructions. An examination revealed bilateral nystagmus, and a urine toxicology screen was positive for opiates.
Read moreA 47-year-old female presented to her local emergency department (ED) on a Saturday evening with complaints of shoulder and back pain, nausea, dizziness, and chest discomfort. Earlier in the day, the patient reported working in her garden and attending a family picnic. An ECG was ordered, and the results were negative. The patient was not referred for further cardiac testing because the emergency physician determined that muscle strain and acid reflux were the cause of the patient's symptoms.
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