Chapter 8Medical Staff

True/False

A true/false question may be one or more statements. If any part of a true/false statement is untrue, answer "false."

___1. A physician who decides to withdraw his or her services need not provide the patient with reasonable notice.

__2.A physician who wrongfully supplies a patient with prescriptions for controlled substances in excessive amounts causing death from a drug overdose can be liable for the wrongful death of the patient.

__3.Modern medicine has created situations in which surgeons always have the right to control all persons within the operating room. An assignment of liability based on the theory of actual control more realistically reflects the actual relationship that exists in a contemporary operating room.

__4.An anesthesiologist's improper placement of an endotracheal tube into the esophagus can give rise to liability in a malpractice suit.

__5.A physician's efforts always constitute negligence if they are unsuccessful in a particular case.

__6.It is assumed by law that medicine has become so standardized that it is unreasonable for two physicians to have differing opinions on the proper method of treating injuries or illnesses.

__7.Failure of a physician to inform his or her patient in a timely manner that an X-ray revealed a lesion can give rise to a malpractice suit.

__ 8.Physicians on call for a specific service in a hospital's emergency department are expected to respond to requests for emergency assistance when such is considered necessary by designated hospital staff. Failure to respond is grounds for negligence should a patient suffer injury as a result of a physician's failure to respond.

__ 9.Failure of hospital staff to follow up on conflicts in X-ray readings by an emergency department physician Saturday evening and a radiologist's reading the following Monday morning can give rise to liability on the part of the hospital.

__10. A physician cannot be liable for malpractice if, in rendering treatment to a patient, he or she does not make a proper disclosure to the patient of the risks involved in a procedure.

__11. Should a patient suffer a serious fall and a fracture is indicated, it is a matter of common knowledge that the ordinary physician in good standing, in the exercise of ordinary care and diligence, would not order X-rays.

__12. The failure to order a proper set of X-rays is as legally risky as the failure to order any X-rays.

__13. If a preferred treatment in a given situation is clearly outside a physician's field of expertise, it is his or her duty to treat the patient.

__14. The mere fact that a patient contracts an infection following a surgical procedure will, in and of itself, cause a surgeon to be liable for negligence. To permit a jury to infer negligence would be to expose every doctor and dentist to the charge of negligence every time an infection originated at the site of a wound.

__15. Lack of documentation on a patient's medical record (e.g., patient is allergic to penicillin), which results in an injury to the patient, can be considered negligence.

__16. Standards set by regulatory agencies, as well as a hospital's own rules and regulations, may be used to develop the required standard of care.

__17. The concept of holding a physician liable for the acts of nurses is commonly referred to as the borrowed servant or captain of the ship doctrine. Many authorities are rejecting this doctrine as the role of nurses and other health care professionals and paraprofessionals becomes more specialized and independent.

__18. Misdiagnosis is rarely the cause of malpractice suits against physicians.

__19. Failure of a surgeon to request a biopsy prior to radical surgery is a negligent act and could result in a lawsuit for damages for removal of normal tissue.

__20. The law imposes on a physician the same degree of responsibility in making a diagnosis as it does in prescribing and administering treatment.

__21. One of the most vulnerable medical specialties with tremendous risk exposure to malpractice suits is obstetrics.

__22. Physicians and hospitals run the risk of liability for the premature dismissal of a patient. It is better to be cautious than to regret prematurely dismissing a patient's complaint.

__23. The improper prescription of controlled substances can result in revocation of a physician's license.

__24. A physician should practice discretion when treating a patient outside his or her field of expertise or competence. The standard of care required in a malpractice case will be that of the treating physician.

__25. Failure to obtain the results of a patient's X-rays that are pertinent to a particular surgical procedure can lead to liability if that failure results in injury to the patient.