Great post from SymTym on the perils of pseudocyesis and potential litigation nightmares in the emergency department.
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Emergency physician with a passion for medical informatics and medical education. I write medical textbooks and host educational material at Life in the Fast Lane, HealthEngine and Popfossa.com. I write more eclectically on the web as @sandnsurf
OMG…this is hilarious…for real? Must be a U.S. case. Unfortunately protocol has to follow even for any female patient regardless of complaint. You present with a cough and get a prego test…huh??? Seriously though the U.S. Doctors do get some crazy ass people in their E.R.s. You have the three hots and a cot crew that come in every 11:00 PM. That’s your basic NYC stinking homeless psychiatric patient all liquored up waiting to get admitted. Triage “under the table” protocol throws them off to the drunk wall side where they are out of the way. It’s a constant battle. They get what they want a clean cot and a shower in the morning. They never make it upstairs. When it’s a full moon the E.R.’s are jammed packed with everything and anything. It’s a tough howlin’ @ the moon night in the E.R… :-p
If the above “case” was in the U.S. I would hope the Doctor on call would cover his ass by asking for a psych evaluation stat. Get that patient transferred to the Psych E.R. They will fix her up. Few lawsuits there. Once these kind of patients get disciplined they will think twice before pulling the same stunt. They will be on file. Unfortunately they stumble along from one E.R. to another. Wasting time that could be used treating other patients in dire need. My advice to any E.R. Doc with patients manifesting such irrational behaviour is do a full work up, rule out underlying medical and then send them off to the Psych area. By that time you will have enough time to gather your “evidence” for your small claims court $15.00 filing appearance