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J U N E 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
William Landess, CRNA, MS, JD
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Don't Give in to the Gadget
Distracted doctoring is the new legal minefield.
T
he term "distracted doctoring" is being heard more and more fre-
quently, but the phenomenon isn't limited to physicians. Anyone
and everyone — nurses, PAs, NPs, CRNAs, OR staff, even admin-
istrators — can be held negligent, and therefore culpable, if they
choose to pay more attention to their electronic devices than their
patients.
Mobile devices are here to stay and we should be grateful. The tech-
nology is wonderful. It lets us instantly dial up a diagnosis, a drug
dose or a colleague to consult with. The devices are more valuable
than can ever be measured. They give us immediate access to the
entire world of medicine, right at our fingertips.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
IMPULSE CONTROL Electronic
devices in the OR aren't the prob-
lem. The problem is our inability
to control how we use them.
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