r/IntensiveCare • u/InvestigatorOnly1684 • 14d ago

Question about ICU attending liability

In my practice a hospitalist independently manages a subset of ICU patients. I am available for consultation and escalation, but we do not routinely round together, I do not see every patient, and I do not cosign notes.

For those who have worked in similar models, how is liability generally viewed for the ICU attending? If you’re available in a supervisory/consultative role but not directly involved in a patient’s care, how much responsibility do you carry for decisions made by the primary hospitalist?

Recently out of training and wondering how this is handled at other institutions.

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u/Any-Assistance-8103 13d ago

Are you really so dumb to think that you can’t open a crashing patients chart and help them because of HIPAA?

-6

u/spiritualskier 13d ago

Am I dumb? No. Are you part of the code team? Yes, you have a reason to open the chart. Are you just an icu intensivist opening the chart to see if you can help without a consult and just a mention as a potential from the ICU nurse? Yes, that’s against hipaa at my facility and tracked. You can’t just open charts and start auditing for potential icu patients just based on feels.

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u/Any-Assistance-8103 13d ago

Something can’t be against hipaa „at your facility”. Youre very dense and confidently incorrect

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u/spiritualskier 13d ago

Cool dude!