Acute Coronary Syndrome (our number one area of liability) ===>Undiagnosed MI is the number one area of liability in emergency medicine, internal medicine, and family practice. ===>In emergency medicine, undiagnosed MI accounts for approximately 30% of all dollars lost in litigation. ===>MI patients mistakenly discharged have a 25% mortality rate, twice the rate of admitted patients. ===>Emergency physicians miss 2% of MIs. Office practitioners miss about 10% of MIs. ===>Failure-to-diagnose is the most common allegation in litigation following missed MIs. Misinterpretation of EKGs is the second most common allegation. ===>Poor documentation is the most common mistake in failure-to-diagnose cases (ie: failure to document why the physician decided the patient did not have ACS). Thanks to Larry Weiss, MD, JD Disclaimer: This information does not constitute legal advice, is general in nature, and because individual circumstances differ it should not be interpreted as legal advice. The speaker provides this information only for Continuing Medical Education purposes.
