Potential New Area of Litigation for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants
The next time you go to the grocery store, drugstore or warehouse club take a look at the healthcare services being offered. You may or may not be surprised to see that there’s a doctor or a nurse practitioner present and that your favorite drugstore or grocery store is now in the healthcare business.
Certified Legal Nurse Consultants should be on the alert for new litigation involving these non-traditional healthcare settings. Anywhere there is medical care there is potential for medical malpractice. For example many non-traditional healthcare channels are now treating minor injuries. Misdiagnosis of a serious injury perceived to be minor can lead to serious complications.
Standards of care in grocery stores and pharmacies will also need to be clearly defined by the healthcare profession. A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant will be instrumental in researching standards of care for the attorney on medical malpractice cases related to warehouse clubs, grocery stores and pharmacies.
Whether based in a hospital or a grocery store, even the most well-meaning healthcare provider can make a potentially fatal misdiagnosis or mistake. When that happens Certified Legal Nurse Consultants, both plaintiff and defense, should be ready.
I’m Just Sayin’
P.S. Comment and share your experiences as a legal nurse consultant with providers in non-traditional healthcare settings.
2 thoughts on “Potential New Area of Litigation for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants”
I am not surprised to hear about the new direction healthcare is going. They would have to be big on referrals if there is a patient they cannot adequately treat. There again, a referral can be open to litigation because the patient may not follow through. The practitioner has to be on top and call a specialist or the primary while the patient is there. And really good documentation is a must.
I remember the idea was introduced years ago. It was a topic of discussion while in my master’s program. We shot it down because of the loop holes. They either have to be established as an Urgent Care Center or a medical clinic with lot of policies and procedures. I have done urgent care and if we could not adequately treat the patient we shipped them to the ER.
It makes me wonder how long this will last. Our society demands convenience and now we have it.
THE GROCERY STORE “HEALTH CARE-N-A-BOX” IS A WHOLE NEW CAN OF WORMS. I AM STILL AMAZED AT “ONE OF THE TOP 5” SURGEONS IN THE USA, WHO PERFORMED ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY ON A CHARCOT FOOT FORGETS TO TAKE CARE OF THE WHOLE PATIENT. NPO PRIOR TO SURGERY THEN RINGER LATATE IV FLUIDS FOR 6 HOURS DURING SURGERY AND RECOVERY AND TOPPED OFF WITH A DIET COKE IN RECOVERY. NO BLOOD SURGAR CHECKS. NO BOX MEALS IN RECOVERY. THEN THEY WONDER WHY THE PATIENT LOOKS SO BAD. DAY SURGERY CAN BE A SLASH AND DASH. NURSES AND A DOCTOR HAD POOR JUDGEMENT AT DUKE HOSPITAL. WOW, HEALTH CARE IS CIRCLING THE DRAIN. THIS WAS NOT A CASE BUT A SITUATION TO A FAMILY MEMBER. THANK GOODNESS ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER KNOWS THE STANDARD OF CARE FOR A DIABETIC PATIENT.
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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
I am not surprised to hear about the new direction healthcare is going. They would have to be big on referrals if there is a patient they cannot adequately treat. There again, a referral can be open to litigation because the patient may not follow through. The practitioner has to be on top and call a specialist or the primary while the patient is there. And really good documentation is a must.
I remember the idea was introduced years ago. It was a topic of discussion while in my master’s program. We shot it down because of the loop holes. They either have to be established as an Urgent Care Center or a medical clinic with lot of policies and procedures. I have done urgent care and if we could not adequately treat the patient we shipped them to the ER.
It makes me wonder how long this will last. Our society demands convenience and now we have it.
THE GROCERY STORE “HEALTH CARE-N-A-BOX” IS A WHOLE NEW CAN OF WORMS. I AM STILL AMAZED AT “ONE OF THE TOP 5” SURGEONS IN THE USA, WHO PERFORMED ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY ON A CHARCOT FOOT FORGETS TO TAKE CARE OF THE WHOLE PATIENT. NPO PRIOR TO SURGERY THEN RINGER LATATE IV FLUIDS FOR 6 HOURS DURING SURGERY AND RECOVERY AND TOPPED OFF WITH A DIET COKE IN RECOVERY. NO BLOOD SURGAR CHECKS. NO BOX MEALS IN RECOVERY. THEN THEY WONDER WHY THE PATIENT LOOKS SO BAD. DAY SURGERY CAN BE A SLASH AND DASH. NURSES AND A DOCTOR HAD POOR JUDGEMENT AT DUKE HOSPITAL. WOW, HEALTH CARE IS CIRCLING THE DRAIN. THIS WAS NOT A CASE BUT A SITUATION TO A FAMILY MEMBER. THANK GOODNESS ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER KNOWS THE STANDARD OF CARE FOR A DIABETIC PATIENT.