Healthcare Risk Management – February 1, 2006
February 1, 2006
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Condition H phone line provides last chance to prevent serious errors
The idea of a Code Blue is well ingrained in hospitals. When the designated team hears that page for cardiac arrest, they drop everything and go running to help. -
Response team always on call for Condition H
This description of the Condition H system comes from Tamra Merryman, RN, MSN, FACHE, vice president of the Center for Quality Improvement and Innovation for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Health System. -
Death of young girl prompts Condition H program
Condition H was prompted by the experience of Sorrel King, whose daughter Josie died in 2001 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore due to medical errors. -
Level of harm not factor when deciding to punish
Adopting a just culture instead of a nonpunitive or blame-free culture means you have to be ready to discipline employees for some behavior that can threaten patient safety, but how do you know when punishment is appropriate? -
3 types of misbehavior determine when to punish
Under a just culture, employee misbehavior can be categorized in these three general ways. -
Recruit staff from all over to keep you informed
Every risk manager thinks the job is too big for one person, especially as health systems keep heaping on more and more responsibility, so maybe you shouldn't try to do it alone. -
Use variety of ways to educate staff on issues
When educating front line staff members, it is best to use a combination of methods, says Denise C. Myers, RN, MS, CNAA, CPHRM, director of risk management at Monongalia Health System in Morgantown, WV. -
'Risk management hero' award prompts staff
Staff respond best to positive feedback and to seeing that their participation results in a meaningful change in the workplace. -
To manage aggression, give staff right skills
Most aggressive behavior in a health care setting can be controlled before it turns violent if you know the right strategies to use. -
6 steps from calm to violent behavior
Risk managers should encourage health care staff to think of a six-step aggression continuum, suggests Steve Wilder, CHSP, EMT-P, a security consultant with Sorenson, Wilder & Associates in Bradley, IL -
Legal Review and Commentary: Refusal to administer epidural anesthesia leads to $200,000 CA settlement
A pregnant woman in labor was admitted to the hospital. In agony due to the large size of the baby, the patient asked for epidural anesthesia. -
Legal Review and Commentary: Traction during birth causes partial paralysis
An obstetrician encountered difficulty in delivering a baby because the baby's shoulders had become stuck. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Survey: Americans worried about health info privacy
A survey from the California Health Care Foundation finds that despite new federal protection, 67% of Americans still are concerned about the privacy of their personal health information and are largely unaware of their rights. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: AHA wants contingency period for attachment rule
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that hospitals should have a contingency period of at least three years after a final rule on standards for electronic health care claims attachments ... -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Court rejects privacy suit related to HIPAA
A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge by patient advocacy groups to a rule promulgated under HIPAA ... -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: CMS: PHI can be disclosed for payment purposes
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says a state Medicaid agency and Medicare Advantage plan may share protected health information to identify dually eligible enrollees. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: EPIC warns about DTC marketing databases
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) West Coast Office has told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) it is concerned about an issue in direct-to-consumer (DTC) medical marketing ...