Ama
As a retired nurse, I am familiar with the process involved with a patient who wants to leave AMA (against medical advice). If a patient expresses a desire to leave, it is the responsibility of the nurse and physician to explain the risks involved with leaving AMA and the benefits to the patient for staying. All of this should be documented in the EMR. If the patient still refuses to stay, he/she should be requested to sign the AMA form that indicates it is the patient’s choice to leave the hospital. To hold a patient at the hospital against his/her will is considered battery.
We don’t know all of the circumstances in this particular situation and whether this type of interaction occurred with the patient. We don’t know his mental capacity. This incident should definitely be investigated throughly by the hospital’s Quality Department to learn exactly what occurred so that possible changes to processes can be identified. There have been legal cases where nurses and physicians were sued for the death of an AMA patient and won in court because they had followed all of the proper procedures. No one should jump to conclusions without full knowledge of what actually took place. It is indeed sad that this death occurred, but it may not be the hospital’s fault.
|