Nope! Navigating the Complex Patient Refusal

Refusals are an EMS provider’s biggest gamble. A provider who fails to properly assess a patient who declines care, and who fails to properly document the encounter, doubles down on the chance of legal liability. The chance of liability significantly increases in complex cases of refusals involving minors, individuals who are in custody or incarcerated, or patients who are suffering from mental health or substance use disorders. Nick Adams, an EMS division chief and paramedic with more than two decades of experience, and Samantha Johnson, an attorney for one of the largest hospital-based EMS systems in the Southeast, offer tips and tricks for responders to protect themselves and their services from losing it all in complex refusal cases.