[PhasmaFelis]

Asssuming the article is accurate, I think you're mis-characterizing what happened here. Simon wasn't calling a colleague for a second opinion before making a decision; she decided Warren needed to be admitted, called a senior hospitalist to expedite that admission, and was clearly and repeatedly refused.

The OP's title "doctors can be sued by patients they don't treat" is not accurate. A better one might be "doctors can be sued by patients they refuse to allow treatment."

[rgejman]

This situation happens in EDs as well. For example: ED attending thinks admission is warranted but patient does not meet criteria (“please come see the patient because he/she looks worse than labs suggest”). This is why the ED exists and the correct move here should have been for the NP to send the patient to the ED for evaluation instead of relying on the opinion of an MD over the phone. The physician at the hospital should have suggested this as well—but to think that the MD is culpable for malpractice without laying eyes on the patient is lunacy.