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J U N E 2 0 1 5 | 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
Cleared for Surgery?
You should have a clear protocol for obtaining medical clearances.
A
s a
med-
ical
malpractice
attorney and
former physi-
cian, I've seen
several recent
lawsuits with
the same unset-
tling theme:
patients getting
wheeled back to
the OR without
having been
properly cleared
for surgery.
Many of these
cases involve
patients with
blood clotting
or coagulation
conditions.
These known
or suspected medical diagnoses require hematology clearance that is
sometimes overlooked or missed entirely. Typically, a lack of proper
communication between the patient, the hematologist, and the surgi-
cal facility is the root of the problem. In a recent case, this lack of
M E D I C A L M A L P R A C T I C E
Leon Aussprung, MD, JD, LL.M
z MEDICAL CLEARANCE Patients are often put into the difficult situation of
collecting records or getting surgical clearances under serious time constraints.