- Joined
- Jan 24, 2006
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I was in a situation the other day where the staff, residents, and a colleague all thought I was in the wrong and I would appreciate everyone else's opinions on this...
A middle aged man is brought in unresponsive and cyanotic. He completely awakens with narcan (normal vitals, conversive, and completely oriented). He immediately demands to be released from the hospital. He is able to provide the accurate date, location, and events of the evening. He does not want anyone notified about his whereabouts or the events that landed him there. He was told that if he left the narcan would potentially wear off and he may be again be at risk of death and although he understands and repeats this back to me in his own words he still wishes to leave. lastly, he is clear that he is a heroin addict and this was not a suicidal attempt in any way.
I let him leave with a signed AMA form.
The issues above were not in dispute by anyone yet, my nursing staff, techs, residents, and my colleague coming on after me all thought I should have refused to let him leave and held him against his will.
What do you all think? Was there a platform on which I could stand and hold him against his will? I most importantly wanted to do what I could for the patient, but I did not want to risk criminal charges or malpractice charges over this....
A middle aged man is brought in unresponsive and cyanotic. He completely awakens with narcan (normal vitals, conversive, and completely oriented). He immediately demands to be released from the hospital. He is able to provide the accurate date, location, and events of the evening. He does not want anyone notified about his whereabouts or the events that landed him there. He was told that if he left the narcan would potentially wear off and he may be again be at risk of death and although he understands and repeats this back to me in his own words he still wishes to leave. lastly, he is clear that he is a heroin addict and this was not a suicidal attempt in any way.
I let him leave with a signed AMA form.
The issues above were not in dispute by anyone yet, my nursing staff, techs, residents, and my colleague coming on after me all thought I should have refused to let him leave and held him against his will.
What do you all think? Was there a platform on which I could stand and hold him against his will? I most importantly wanted to do what I could for the patient, but I did not want to risk criminal charges or malpractice charges over this....