An On-Call Clinician’s “Duty of Care”

The Ruling

While courts have traditionally been hesitant to hold doctors liable for “curbside consultations”—those opportunistic consultations that take place in hallways and coffee rooms—the court in this case differentiated the neurologist’s actions and found that it was reasonable for a jury to believe that there was a doctor-patient relationship between the on-call neurologist and the patient. First, the treating physician had called the neurologist because he was the designated on-call neurologist. As such, the neurologist expected this type of call. He had an agreement with the medical center to provide this service. He was getting something in exchange—admitting privileges for his own patients.

 Regardless of whether the agreement with the medical center was in writing or not, the court held that “it was formalized through the unbroken performance of the interlocking obligations over time.” The court ruled to reverse the district court's previous summary judgment and remand for further proceedings.

The Bottom Line

If you are an on-call physician and you are called for an opinion and give one, a duty of care to the patient has likely been created.

Reference

 Miller v. Hutchinson Reg'l Med. Ctr., 124,357 (Kan Ct App. Jan. 20, 2023) https://casetext.com/case/miller-v-hutchinson-regl-med-ctr

Ann W. Latner, JD, is a freelance writer and attorney based in New York. She was formerly the director of periodicals at the American Pharmacists Association and editor of Pharmacy Times.