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Biomedical subjects

Sara Bird

Publications and source records attributed to Sara Bird.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The potential pitfalls of ear syringing. Minimising the risks.

Case histories are based on actual medical negligence claims. However, certain facts have been omitted or changed by the author to ensure the anonymity of the parties involved. Ear syringing is a common procedure performed in general practice. It has been estimated that major complications occur in 1 in 1000 ears syringed. This article discusses the common complications of ear syringing and provides some tips on how to minimise the possibility of a complication and claim arising from this procedure.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Sickness certificates. To write or not to write.

Sickness certificates are legal documents. General practitioners may face disciplinary proceedings, or even civil or criminal action if they issue a false, misleading or incorrect sickness certificate. Never backdate a sickness certificate. Always record the actual date that the certificate was written and the date of the consultation--even if the certificate refers to a different period of absence from work.

Australia↗
PubMed2003

When things go wrong.

Case histories are based on actual medical negligence claims, however, certain facts have been omitted or changed by the author to ensure the anonymity of the parties involved. Despite the best intentions of medical practitioners, things do go wrong from time to time and a patient may experience an adverse outcome as a result of a medical practitioner's actions. This article discusses some of the issues that general practitioners should consider when things go wrong.

Diagnostic Errors↗
PubMed2002

Failure to diagnose breast cancer.

Case histories are based on actual medical negligence claims, however, certain facts have been omitted or changed by the author to ensure the anonymity of the parties involved. Failure to diagnose cancer is a relatively common cause of medical negligence claims against general practitioners. Most of these cases involve patients under the age of 40 years who are diagnosed with breast cancer. The most common causes of these claims are: the physical findings failed to impress the GP as suspicious failure of the GP to follow up the patient in a timely manner. This article outlines some risk management strategies for GPs to minimise the possibility of a claim arising from the failure to diagnose breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Failure to diagnose acute myocardial infarction.

Case histories are based on actual medical negligence claims, however, certain facts have been omitted or changed by the author to ensure the anonymity of the parties involved. An allegation of failure to diagnose acute myocardial infarction is a relatively common cause of medical negligence claims against general practitioners. The main factors contributing to these claims are failure to order appropriate investigations (including electrocardiograms), failure to suspect myocardial infarction, failure or delay in hospital admission and/or referral and misinterpretation of investigations. This article outlines risk management strategies for GPs to minimise the possibility of a claim arising from the failure to diagnose acute myocardial infarction.

Australia↗
PubMed2002

Contraception failure and wrongful birth claims.

Case histories are based on actual medical negligence claims, however, certain facts have been omitted or changed by the author to ensure the anonymity of the parties involved. Medical negligence claims involving an allegation or 'wrongful birth' can arise from a negligent failure of contraception. In these wrongful birth claims, the patient sues the medical practitioner who failed to prevent her conception and subsequent pregnancy. This article outlines some risk management strategies for general practitioners to minimise the possibility of a claim arising from a failure of contraception involving the use of the long acting contraceptive implant, Implanon.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The art of dealing with complaints.

Complaints against medical practitioners are relatively frequent. Appropriate management of complaints is an important part of good practice management. This article provides some guidelines for general practitioners on how to respond to patient complaints.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A GP's duty to follow up test results.

Medical negligence claims alleging 'failure to diagnose' are a common cause of claims against general practitioners. In these claims there is often an underlying weakness in the GP's test result and patient tracking systems. This article discusses the duty of care of a GP to follow up patients and their test results. Guidance is provided on how to establish an effective test result tracking system in order to minimise the possibility of a claim arising from 'failure to diagnose'.

Adult↗