PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY Professional Liability

Professional Liability

Introduction

Physicians often rely on office assistants to perform basic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. If a physician allows an assistant to engage in activities for which he or she is not adequately trained or lacks sufficient experience, the physician is likely to be held legally responsible for any damage caused a patient.

Allied health professionals play a vital role in the delivery of health services. These professionals assist family physicians in providing a medical home and ensuring the health of patients through their provision of vital services in physician-directed team.

Physician Assistants

PAs' adoption of management and ownership roles often has occurred because of practical considerations. For example, when a physician in a rural area retires, the PA can assume ownership of that clinic when a physician in a neighboring town, who does not want additional ownership responsibilities, agrees to supervise the PA. This arrangement allows the practice to remain open, thereby ensuring local access to needed health care.

Physician Assistants and Malpractice Risk

When you are facing a medical emergency, it can be stressful and even frightening to learn that the person who is handling your medical treatment is not a doctor, but a physician assistant. These health care professionals are not physicians, but they are trained to perform medical procedures and administer treatment, with the requirement that they be under the supervision of a qualifying physician at all times.

Hospitals and medical facilities in St. Louis and throughout the United States have been increasingly likely to hire physician assistants in an effort to reduce patient wait times and increase patient satisfaction. From 2004 to 2009, the number of physicians practicing alongside physician assistants increased by more than 25 percent. In addition, there was a 19 percent increase in doctors directly supervising physician assistants in the emergency room during that five ...