There is need to go back to basics: Doctor see the patient, take history, examine them, before prescribing, if you have to!.
TELEMEDICINE SHOULD NOT REPLACE THE HUMAN DOCTOR - You are not an AI. AI AND TECHNOLOGY ARE SUPPORT TOOLS, CANNOT REPLACE THE HUMAN
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Amazon One Medical sued after patient prescribed inhaler dies in ER
ChadVan Alstin | December 18, 2024 | Health Exec | LegalNews
Last Christmas, Philip Tong, 45, began coughing up blood and was short of breath. With his feet turning blue, he entered a videoconsultation with a clinician at Amazon One Medical. According to a lawsuit filed in October, he was advised to buy an inhaler.
Tong collapsed and died in an Oakland emergency room hours later.
Now, his family is suing Amazon One Medical for malpractice, along with the Oakland hospital. According to coverage from the Washington Post, the lawsuit marks the first wrongful death claim against One Medical, which was purchased by Amazon in February 2023.
Tong had diabetes and had suffered from flu-like symptoms for a week prior to his death. His family claims Amazon One Medical should have recognized that Tong needed emergency care based on his symptoms.
In the lawsuit, Amazon One Medical is accused of lacking “adequately trained and qualified staff,” resulting in care that was “careless,reckless, and negligent.”
In response, Amazon One Medical said it is prohibited from discussing the case.
“We care deeply about every patient we serve, and the quality and safety of our care are our highest priorities,” an Amazon One Medical spokesperson told the Post in a statement. “We’re proud of our extensive quality and safety measures, and the health outcomes we help our patients achieve. We take concerns about our care extremely seriously, and we’re committed to continuous improvement.”
Questions remain about the quality of Amazon One Medical's digital health consultations. Citing a leaked report, the Post noted that OneMedical was hit with layoffs after the Amazon buyout, with clinicians working tighter schedules. In fact, two patients in the report noted that their doctor was in their car during virtual care appointments.
Additionally, concerns were raised about the way staff handled urgent medical cases.
The lawsuit is expected to move forward in March.
Read the full report from The Washington Post at the link below.
Family sues Amazon One Medical after death followed a virtual appointment
Source: https://healthexec.com/topics/healthcare-management/legal-news/amazon-on...
HIFA Profile: Joseph Ana is the Lead Senior Fellow/Medical Consultant at the Centre for Clinical Governance Research and Patient Safety (CCGR&PS) with Headquarters in Calabar, Nigeria, established by HRI Global (former HRIWA). He is the Country Coordinator for PACK Nigeria (Practical Approach to Care Kit) which is specifically designed to improve clinical competence (improving accuracy of diagnosis and treatment) in primary health care. He is also a Member of the World Health Organisation’s Technical Advisory Group on Integrated Care in primary, emergency, operative, and critical care (TAG-IC2). As the Cross River State Commissioner for Health (2004-2008), Joseph Ana led the introduction of the evidence based, homegrown quality tool, the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme (12-PCGP) in Nigeria, which also suitable for lower-, low-, and middle income countries (LLMIC) with similar weak health sector and system. To ensure sustainability of 12-PCGP, the ‘Department of Clinical Governance, Servicom & e-health’ was established in Cross River State Ministry of Health in 2007. His main interest is in ‘Whole health sector and system strengthening in LLMICs’. He has written six books on the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme, including the TOOLS manual for its Implementation, currently in its 2nd Edition. He served as Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association’s Standing Committee on Clinical Governance (2012-2022), and he won the Association’s ‘Award of Excellence’ on three consecutive occasions for the innovation of 12-PCGP in Nigeria. He served as Chairman, Quality & Performance subcommittee of the Technical Working Group for the implementation of the Nigeria Health Act 2014. He was Member, National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee (NTISC) of the Federal Ministry of Health, 2017-2022. He is the pioneer Secretary General/Trustee-Director of the Charity, NMF (Nigerian Medical Forum UK) which took the BMJ to West Africa in 1995. Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group; the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers, and the Working Group on HIFA-WHO Collaboration (http://www.hifa.org/support/members/joseph-0 http://www.hifa.org/people/steering-group). Email: info AT hri-global.org and jneana AT yahoo.co.uk
