Healthcare Risk Management – March 1, 2008
March 1, 2008
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Addicted doctors may seek help, but don't always reveal themselves
No one doubts that addicted physicians pose a significant liability risk and threat to patient safety, so risk managers are eager to offer help when asked. But what if the doctor doesn't ask you or anyone else in your organization and instead goes outside for help in beating the addiction? -
Impaired doctors fear impact on careers
Addicted physicians must overcome significant fears about the impact on their careers and personal lives before they are willing to ask for help, so risk managers can help by assuring them the process will be about rehabilitation and not punishment, according to two experts in the field. -
Patient brochure must be worded carefully
Nearly every health care facility has a patient safety brochure these days, and they almost always come out of some department other than risk management. So do you really know what is in your organization's patient safety brochure? -
Lawsuit says hospital 'dumped' homeless man
Civil rights attorneys are suing Hollywood (CA) Presbyterian Medical Center in connection with the "dumping" of a paraplegic man on Skid Row in 2006 that sparked nationwide outrage after media reports of the man falling out of a van and then crawling in the gutter. -
CA lawsuit could have wide effects
The lawsuit filed against Hollywood (CA) Presbyterian Medical Center could affect how hospitals nationwide discharge the homeless, say some legal observers. -
Hospital's sepsis program initiative boosts safety
An initiative aimed at standardizing interventions related to the rapid diagnosis and treatment of severe sepsis has significantly improved patient safety at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. -
VA official apologizes for substandard care
Nineteen deaths over the past two years at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in southern Illinois may be linked to substandard care, according to a an investigation that prompted an impassioned apology from a VA official. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Failure to timely diagnose tuberculosis leads to death, confidential settlement
News: A man exhibiting tuberculosis-like symptoms went to a clinic for treatment. Tests were ordered, including an analysis by the state health department, after which it was determined that the man was suffering from a disease related to tuberculosis called Mycobacterium avium. Several months later, the man presented to the emergency department with ear pain and an upper respiratory infection.ï -
Legal Review & Commentary: Failure to timely diagnose tuberculosis leads to death, confidential settlement
News: A man exhibiting tuberculosis-like symptoms went to a clinic for treatment. Tests were ordered, including an analysis by the state health department, after which it was determined that the man was suffering from a disease related to tuberculosis called Mycobacterium avium. Several months later, the man presented to the emergency department with ear pain and an upper respiratory infection. He died two weeks later. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Unresolved gallstones cause bile leakage, death
News: An obese, middle-aged woman suffering from pancreatitis and gallstones underwent gallbladder removal surgery at a hospital. Over the next two weeks, she continued to experience abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Although doctors suspected that the woman might have gallstones floating freely in her bile duct, they were unable to perform the necessary procedures to confirm that suspicion due to the patient's size. The woman subsequently died.