The Front OfficeDuty beyond patients
Section snippets
Background
What duty of care could a dentist owe to someone who is not a patient and how far does that duty extend? Suppose someone in your waiting room who is accompanying one of your patients has a heart attack on the premises. What responsibility do you have to care for that non-patient? As licensed health care professionals, we are trained in CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), which is legally required in most offices. A case occurred in a fitness facility that can offer a
The Case
A nonmember is found lying on the floor with eyes open, breathing heavily, with a pale face and a faint pulse. A call is placed to 9-1-1, the office emergency kit and AED are brought out, and the attendant (the owner/operator was not present) asks if anyone present has medical training. A retired physician and his granddaughter, a nursing student, step up to attend to the person. In the judgment of the attendant, these medically trained individuals will provide better care than he could. The
Guidelines
Good Samaritan laws are designed to encourage people to intervene in emergency situations by shielding them from liability when their acts cause injury, death, or disability, unless those acts were found to be grossly negligent or wanton or willful conduct. Even though AEDs are required, laws do not always require businesses or their employees to actually use them. These laws aim to ensure AEDs are available for use by trained persons where there might be a higher risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
Discussion
Although the case does not give us clear-cut answers, we can make some parallel applications. Patients are invited into our offices and are owed a duty to be provided a reasonably safe environment. Part of that safe environment is having personnel trained in CPR and having an AED available. If a patient suffers a heart attack during treatment, we are required to administer whatever aid is required according to our training based on our special relationship to patients. If someone waiting with
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Jerrold L: You made my heart stop. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 44:479-480, 2013
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