Defensive medicine becoming standard of care?

February 21, 2007

ERs are a haven for defensive medicine, understandably so. Flea worries that some patients will think the overtesting and overtreatment performed in ERs is standard of care:

Here’s the problem: Overuse of emergency services for non-emergent complaints educates parents and their children that non-emergent conditions require emergency level of care. Thus when a toddler in my practice goes to the E.D. with cold symptoms and gets an I.V. (true story from last night), the parents learn that colds deserve I.V.’s.

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{ 1 comment }

1 Anonymous February 21, 2007 at 11:22 pm

Bingo.
Ex ER doc

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