ERDoc Posted July 9, 2011 Posted July 9, 2011 Beiber is right on. The DPOA does not go into effect until the pt is judged as not having the capacity to make her own decisions. If you have done a full evaluation and deem that she is competent to make her own decisions then she has every right to refuse to be transported. Even if the DPOA says she has to go, you cannot force her to go because she still makes her own decisions. I would politely tell the nurse that taking the pt against her wishes could be considered assault/battery/kidnapping/imprisonment and inform her that you will gladly have the police come and explain this to her and in the morning you will contact the state dept of health who can also explain this to her. We had a similar case where they refused to take the pt back after being discharged from the ER. Our more-than-happy-to-poke-the-bear PA called the police and explained what was happening. It was explained to them that the pt is paying for her room and under no circumstances can they refuse to the let pt back in and if they did, the nurse on duty would be arrested. You know in the end, this is going to end up being a big deal so make sure you DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.
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