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material by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. for Year 6 ethics lecture at the
Faculty of Medicine King Fahad Medical City 11th February 2012
1.0 INFORMED CONSENT
·
Describe
situations in which an emergency room patient becomes incompetent
·
Can an advance directive be used to intervene in
an emergency room?
·
Explain treatment in an emergency when there is
no time to get consent.
·
Explain treatment decisions in emergency rooms
for incapacitated patients.
2.0 REFUSAL OF EMERGENCY TREATMENT
·
Explain guidelines for dealing with refusal or
emergency treatment for competent and incompetent patients.
·
Describe guidelines on life saving resuscitation
after attempted suicide if the patient refuses consent.
·
Discuss the relevance if advance refusal for
emergency resuscitation.
3.0 PHYSICIAN RESPONSIBILITY IN ER
·
Explain what a health care should do in
emergency if he has to undertake a procedure he is not authorized to carry out.
·
Discuss the obligation of an off-duty doctor to
treat patients in an airplane or on a road accident.
4.0 ISSUES OF
CONFIDENTIALITY AND DISCLOSURE
·
Describe guidelines for maintaining Privacy and
Confidentiality in a busy ER
·
Discuss the admission of relatives into the
resuscitation room.
·
Describe guidelines on disclosure of medical
information to the media in cases of a major accident involving many people
·
Discuss disclosure of information to the police
about patients in an emergency room
·
Describe guidelines on forensic searches of
unconscious patients for alcohol blood levels.
·
Discuss guidelines for dealing with domestic and
child abuse in the emergency room as well as information disclosure.
5.0 END OF LIFE
DECISIONS
·
Give examples of ER conditions for which intubation
and ventilation will be withheld
·
Can a DNR order be written in ER?
6.0 ISSUES OF
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
·
Describe the basis for triage in the ER to
determine prioritizing patient treatment
·
What admission criteria will you use if several
patients present in the ER simultaneously and facilities are not enough?
7.0 RESEARCH
Explain research in
the ER with no consent