Healthcare Risk Management – August 1, 2008
August 1, 2008
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Reduce ED violence with training, diligent reporting to avoid harm
Violence in the emergency department (ED) is such a common occurrence that staff can become complacent about the risks they face daily. Nowhere else in your organization would employees accept the idea that they may be assaulted at any time, but that attitude can be common in the ED. -
Training, buddy system can reduce ED violence
Angry, violent individuals need specialized attention, and improperly handling a crisis can mean years of litigation, warns Robert Siciliano, CEO of NurseSecurity.com and a personal security expert in Boston. Fail to act properly and you could face liability from either the injured staff member or the assailant who was injured by your intervention. Or both. -
Know what to do when faced with suit
It can be a common occurrence for risk managers, but it still makes your heart skip a little when you learn that there is a new claim or lawsuit against your facility. What do you do? -
Never alter chart to help lawsuit
Everyone knows you should never alter medical records after the fact, right? But if it is so clear to everyone, why do medical malpractice defense attorneys repeat that rule like a mantra, and why do they all have plenty of anecdotes about defendants trying to improve the medical record? -
Hospital cuts injuries with 'falls cart'
Sometimes the most effective strategies for those problems that plague every health care facility are not high tech and don't require a highly paid consultant. -
Fall risk factors vary with groups
The risk factors for an elderly patient living at home will be quite different from the risk factors for a patient in a hospital setting. -
2009 safety goals address site marking
The Joint Commission's 2009 National Patient Safety Goals introduce some significant changes for hospitals related to multiple drug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and more stringent standards for how operative sites should be marked to avoid wrong-site errors. -
$20 million verdict after liposuction death
A Pennsylvania jury has awarded $20 million to the family of an 18-year-old Newtown Square, PA, woman who died after a liposuction procedure. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Failure to diagnose fatal sepsis leads to $1.835 million verdict in New York
A middle-aged man was taken to the hospital complaining of pain in his lower back and abdomen. The man was given pain medication and a muscle relaxant and discharged. After his pain persisted, the man went to another hospital, where he was given anti-inflammatory medications and discharged. A few days later, the man was taken by ambulance back to the first hospital, where he suffered cardiac arrest and died. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Brain-damaged child: $30 million malpractice verdict
After an extraordinary 14 years of litigation, a Broward County, FL, jury recently entered a $30 million verdict against a hospital and an obstetrician for damages arising out of the birth of a child with brain damage.