Does the hospital share a burden of responsibility for the care given at the physicians office where there are no consultants?

Does the hospital share a burden of responsibility for the care given at the physician’s office where there are no consultants?

Dr. Respected is 77 years old and has been practicing medicine fo years. He is revered in his community and has been a major face of the 50 St hospital in the area for quite some time. He is in solo practice as a primary care physician. He is scaling down his practice some but makes rounds in the hospital every day and sees patients in his office. In the hospital he now often consults others to help manage his patients The care given and the outcomes are good. The nursing staff has been notic ing that he is gradually declining and this has been passed on to adminis- tration. His comments to them are at times odd, and he forgets to sign his notes. A few orders have been for the wrong dose of a medication and the consultants have been correcting this. His patients love when he comes to visit them in the hospital. Does the hospital have a responsibility to take away Dr. Respected’s privi- leges? There have been no reports of bad outcomes. Does the hospital share a burden of responsibility for the care given at the physician’s office where there are no consultants? 3. All the nurses in obstetrics and all the physicians on the obstetrics and gynecological service know that Dr. Borracho is an alcoholic. He frequently appears so intoxicated as to be unable to measure the dilation of the cervix. ne occasion, he examined a woman and told her she had several hours before delivery The baby’s head appeared before he got out of the room. Until now, there have been no serious injuries to mothers or children, because the nurses have been able to stop him from committing really serious mistakes. Of late, however, Dr. Borracho is getting violent when the nurses intercede. The director of nursing has been informed and has done nothing because Dr. Borracho has a lot of influence in the hospital and the director does not believe in rocking the boat with physicians. Have the nurses done enough by reporting the problem? Should they elsewhere in the hospital, such as to the physicians’ peer review group? ould they use groups outside the hospital, such as the media, the State Sh 6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS 165 Department of Health, or the State Nurses Association? Should patients be encouraged by the nurses to file official complaints?