Consesnt vs. Responsibility;

[Krin135 at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/4/2006 1:05:47 PM Central Standard Time,  
tangentcarrot at hotmail.com writes:

The  first dillema is- should EMS personnel (EMT-B'S, in this case) insist 
with  such pateints? I tried conviencing them to "talk some sense" into him, 
but  they refused,despite my description of coma and amnesia, saying they  
couldn't force him and that "he looks fine now", and left the  scene.


Problem being that he's now upright and relatively coherent...while he is  
displaying the classic 'lucid interval' that may presage an expanding epidural  
bleed, there's nothing that you can do for him right now...
 
Once he passes out, at least here in the US and Canada, 'implied consent'  
becomes possible, and further treatment can be rendered.
 
ck
Charles S. Krin, DO FAAFP