>My trust wishes to insert a compulsory computer record field "alcohol
>related" as part of the medical diagnosis.
--> Then there's nothing which I'd say is worth your time fighting this.
Might as well let them do it. They will then abandon it pretty soon, should
you wish them to, merely by how you get the staff to complete it:
1. You could make them ask the patient what they think...
2. You could say YES whenever alcohol has been consumed within the previous
4 hours OR is more than the recommended daily dose consumed within 24 hours,
etc. i.e. you'd get about 80-90% positives
3. Or you point out to them that many trauma cases are related to the
alcohol someone OTHER THAN THE PATIENT has had before he thumped the patient
4. Or, to really get it abandoned quickly, simply order a blood alcohol
level on everyone to confirm whether this is related or not...
5. Or, simply, save yourself too much thinking effort and simply fill in YES
whenever the phrase "alcohol related" is included in your written diagnosis
in the notes, i.e. VERY RARE!!!
>Do other departments do this
--> Yes, some do. We don't. That other EDs do it is no evidence it is worth
doing...
>and is there a medically accepted definition of "alcohol related" which
>does not depend on a subjective impression of the staff.
--> No.
>Is this another intrusion into our records and work by the State
--> Yes.
>or a useful piece of social science?
--> No. It's not ANY form of science.
>How will the accident lawyers react?
--> Before or after they stop laughing? Unless you have a blood alcohol
level (and even then mostly there's nothing you can prove with it) it will
only take a couple of minutes for them to show that you could not be basing
this opinion on any science...
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