Risk Management

2018 November Bulletin: Giant Cell Arteritis (based on 2015 GCA Claims Study)

November 2018 Risk Management Bulletin

Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA)

The short window for diagnosis and treatment and the risk of severe bilateral vision loss underscore the high stakes of this relatively rare condition.

Lawsuits for delay in diagnosis of GCA involve ophthalmologists who had treated patients with it, knew its signs and symptoms well, and understood that emergent treatment is needed to prevent imminent, bilateral vision loss. What, then, led these ophthalmologists astray?

Our resources explore the reasons for these poor outcomes, the standard to which medical experts hold physicians who treat these patients, and the measures ophthalmologists can take to improve the likelihood of a correct and timely diagnosis.

RESOURCES

Giant cell arteritis claims are costly and difficult to defend

Giant Cell Arteritis Checklist