PabloT

A psych issue is very different from a standard medical issue. The law states that if I try to kill myself, I can be declared incompetent. A case of an asthma patient...who understands their condition and refuses transport to the ER after an breathing treatment....is a completely different case. As for the insurance issue, no one is required to do anything they say. The free market is still in place. The insurance company has the right to refuse payment, but the patient can flip the bill if they choose. Granted......almost no one can afford to do that. However, the patient can then change insurance companies or pay on their own. My point is simply that there is no LEGAL requirement to do what the insurance company tells you to do.

I don't see how a patient can be refused the right of refusal if they are A&OX3. It is their right to allow care or refuse it and they can change their mind at will. I don't want to live in a world where a medical professional has the right to dictate the care I WILL receive even if I say no. We have a number of items in our protocol that state the patient MUST be transported (like diabetics who receive D50). Nevertheless, it is against the law to not allow them to sign the refusal if that is what they choose to do after being duly warned of what could happen.

I've always been told it's the END of the month unless the box says otherwise. In all fairness, I've never read that anywhere, but it's what's been taught to me in school and multiple departments in two different states.

Where I work, once we determine the person has died, we leave it to the police. We leave the body where it is. Once the police are on scene (normally the same time we get there) we leave.....we dont have to leave paperwork with the police.