Healthcare Risk Management – May 1, 2016
May 1, 2016
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Can Alarm Fatigue Be Conquered?
Yes, say the hospitals cutting the noise.
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Nurse sues hospital for suspension related to suicidal comments
When do an employee’s personal troubles threaten patient safety and justify limiting work duties? A certified registered nurse anesthetist recently sued a hospital after it put her on sick leave and demanded a psychiatrist approve her return to work, which was prompted by her statements suggesting suicidal thoughts and the concerns voiced by her coworkers.
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Ransomware attacks are on the rise, and hackers are getting better
On the heels of four incidents in which hospitals were hit with ransomware attacks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre jointly released an alert that warns about several prominent ransomware variants that have emerged over the past few years, including Symantec, Xorist, CtyptorBit, CryptoLocker, Samas, and Locky.
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Healthcare facilities could face liability from recall of duodenoscope
Healthcare facilities and providers face potential liability related to the use of a scope that has been recalled and is the subject of lawsuits against the manufacturer.
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Insurance firms looking to evaluate cyber risk
Insurance underwriters are increasingly investigating ways to evaluate cyber risks and help health-care organizations ensure health information systems and services are adequately protected, according to recent testimony from Daniel Nutkis, CEO of The Health Information Trust Alliance, healthcare leaders and security experts based in Frisco, TX.
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Stryker offers $5 million indemnity for lost sponges
Stryker Corp. in Kalamazoo, MI, recently announced the availability of SurgiCount Promise, a risk-sharing program that protects a hospital’s investment in the SurgiCount Safety-Sponge System with up to $5 million in product-liability indemnification and a rebate of the cost of implementing SurgiCount.
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AHRQ: EHRs associated with fewer adverse events
Cardiovascular, pneumonia, and surgery patients exposed to fully electronic health records were less likely to experience in-hospital adverse events, according to a new study from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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Summit focus: Efforts to improve diagnosis accuracy
Responding to the 2015 Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare report from the Institute of Medicine that placed a public spotlight on the issue of diagnostic accuracy, the American Board of Medical Specialties and the National Patient Safety Foundation recently brought together experts to address the issue.
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Permitted uses of PHI explained in ONC blog
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has launched a new four-part blog series to explain how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act not only protects personal health information from misuse, but also allows health information to be accessed when it is needed for patient care.
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Tenet to pay $238 million for false claims
Tenet Healthcare in Dallas has agreed to pay $238 million to resolve a False Claims Act lawsuit involving alleged kickbacks for maternity referrals by four of its hospitals.
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TJC highlights project to reduce employee falls
The recent issue of the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage includes an article about the results of a project of The Joint Commission that successfully reduced the average number of monthly falls of TJC field staff by 64.8% and has sustained the results for four years.
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Paperwork error leaves hospital without insurance and forced to defend malpractice suit on its own
In 2008, a woman went to a hospital seeking treatment for weight and size reduction. A physician recommended a form of mesotherapy, which is a non-surgical technique to dissolve fat tissues through injections.
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Hospital is liable for $1.5 million for surgeon’s failure to inspect surgery site
In 2011, a 51-year-old woman went to a hospital for a hysterectomy. An obstetrician who works at the hospital operated.