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Costly Diagnosis Delays can be Avoided with Good Practices

Patient safety experts are finding that system failures are more responsible for diagnosis errors than simply mistakes by individuals.

Process is key to reducing diagnosis claims

Policies, procedures, and processes are some of the tools most commonly used by risk managers, and nowhere are they more important than in avoiding claims related to delays in diagnosis.

PIAA: Most commonly missed or delayed diagnosis: breast cancer

Details of 2014 study from PIAA in Rockville, MD, on diagnostic errors and claims.

Assessment failures lead to diagnostic errors

In most cases, a diagnostic error can be traced to a failure in assessing the patient, according to the results of CRICO Strategies’ 2014 annual benchmarking report Malpractice Risks in the Diagnostic Process.

Jury awards $28.2 million for delay in diagnosis

In a case that illustrates the potential liability of delays in diagnosis, a Los Angeles jury recently awarded a woman $28.2 million in future medical expenses, future loss of earnings, and pain and suffering after a four-week trial in Los Angeles Superior Court that focused on a delay in diagnosis.

Increase in public data could prompt litigation against your healthcare facility

The amount of healthcare-related data available to the public is increasing at a rapid pace. Some analysts are concerned that the newly available data could lead to more litigation for healthcare providers.

Study up on conditions of participation, public data

The increasing amount of public data on healthcare organizations might bring lawsuits using that information against you, so it would be wise to prepare yourself for how those claims might take shape.

Electronic reporting, anonymity improve reporting

Reporting of adverse events, near misses, and patient safety concerns might be improved by providing a way for employees to report anonymously. One hospital has seen significant improvements after employing such a system.

Hospital meets Triple Aim goal, improves safety

Improved monitoring has helped Lafayette General Health improve outcomes. The effort was part of the hospital’s goal to achieve the Triple Aim.

Triple Aim pursues higher quality, lower costs

The possibility is high that you will be hearing more about Triple Aim as hospitals adopt this approach to quality improvement. The Triple Aim is a framework developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) that describes an approach to optimizing health system performance.

Medical malpractice payout amounts increase

For the second consecutive year, medical malpractice payouts increased more than 4% from the previous year, according to an analysis Diederich Healthcare conducted of the medical malpractice payout data provided by the National Practitioner Data Bank.

EHR failures create havoc for hospitals

The wide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and other electronic systems inevitably means that healthcare facilities will have to cope with outages. Several facilities recently have experienced how much the failure of one of those systems can cripple a hospital.

System pays $10M to settle FCA allegations

Robinson Health System has agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA), the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Stark Statute by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, the Justice Department announced recently.

HHS targets opioid-drug related overdose, death

Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced an initiative aimed at reducing prescription opioid- and heroin-related overdose, death, and dependence.

Blue Cross Blue Shield employees charged with taking and sharing data screen shots

Eleven people have been charged after a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) employee allegedly printed and shared screen shots of more than 5,000 subscriber profiles. The 11 people are charged with identity theft and credit card fraud, in what some observers are calling an example of how criminals can get past even the best HIPAA security measures.

Good computer logs critical to detecting breach

A detailed record of who accessed data, when, and how often might be the only way an organization can trace the source of a HIPAA breach.

Anthem refuses audit by Office of Inspector General before and after massive HIPAA breach

After all the negative press that Anthem suffered when reporting a HIPAA breach that affected 80 million customers, one might think they would avoid more bad publicity. But the health insurer is under fire for refusing to let the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the agency overseeing the federal employee health benefits program, audit its IT security.

No date yet for OCR’s HIPAA audits

The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) still has not set a date for when the next round of HIPAA audits, originally planned for fall 2014, will take place.

Premera Blue Cross says 11 million records breached

Boston-based health insurer Premera Blue Cross announced recently that a cyberattack might have exposed medical data and financial information of 11 million customers.

Failure to diagnose cauda equina syndrome results in $2.5 million verdict from jury

News: A 19-year-old woman sought treatment at a local hospital ED for severe lower back pain and pelvic numbness. A nurse practitioner quickly discharged her and attributed the symptoms to common back pain. The ED physician failed to consult with the patient, but subsequently approved the nurse’s actions. Two days later, the patient was diagnosed with cauda equine syndrome but had suffered serious and permanent injuries.

Complications post-thyroid surgery lead to patient death, $1.3 million verdict

News: A patient undergoing thyroid surgery was accompanied to the hospital by her sister and daughter. After surgery, the patient began to struggle with her breathing. The patient’s sister and daughter observed the surgeon and nurses work on the patient for more than 30 minutes, during which time the patient’s condition deteriorated until the patient stopped breathing and lost her pulse, which led to permanent brain injury. The patient died 10 days later.

Healthcare Risk Management – May 1, 2015

May 1, 2015