Healthcare Risk Management – October 1, 2016
October 1, 2016
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‘Bait and Switch’ Advertising Brings $16 Million Verdict
A recent $16 million verdict illustrates the risk faced by a hospital when its marketing promises too much and misleads patients. -
Nurse Wrestles Mother into Position — Injury Results
Caroline Malatesta’s birth experience at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, AL, was the opposite of what she expected. She chose the hospital because it promised a gentler birth experience but, instead, ended up injured from a nurse forcing her into a delivery position that she did not want.
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Nurse’s Actions Called ‘Obstetrical Violence’
In addition to the advertising fraud that led to a $16 million verdict against Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, AL, the physical interaction by the nurse is troubling, says Kathleen Juniper, JD, an attorney with the law firm of Buchalter Nemer in Los Angeles.
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In Unusual Settlement, Hospital Works with Plaintiff to Improve Safety
The malpractice case brought against Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, WA, by August de los Reyes involved a tragic outcome but, in other ways, seemed familiar until the parties reached an unusual settlement. In addition to paying $20 million, the hospital agreed to involve de los Reyes in ongoing safety improvement efforts in a way that goes beyond the patient safety councils found at some facilities.
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ED Doctor Waited Five Days to Enter Diagnosis
The sequence of events that led to August de los Reyes being paralyzed from the neck down at age 42 began innocuously with a simple fall from his bed at home in May 2013.
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Safety Huddles Produce Results If They Are Controlled and Monitored
Leaders at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, NY, worried in 2014 that its culture of safety could be improved, particularly the length of time it took to resolve known safety issues. When a review of data revealed a decline in staff reporting actual and near-miss events, the vice president for patient safety and performance improvement called for the development of a safety huddle policy.
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Safety Huddles Raise 1,500 Issues in One Year
During 2015, the safety huddles implemented at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, NY, has increased incident and event reporting by 51% over baseline from previous years, and the increased rate is continuing in 2016, says Ronette Wiley, RN, MHSA, CPPS, vice president of performance improvement at the hospital.
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Huddles Produce Many Safety Improvements
Ronette Wiley, RN, MHSA, CPPS, vice president of performance improvement at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, NY, offers these examples of safety improvements resulting from the safety huddles implemented in 2015:
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Protect Subpoenaed Data from Routine Deletions
Responding to a subpoena can require a risk manager’s oversight of many functions in a healthcare organization, and one area is easy to overlook: the scheduled deletions of data from the computer system that happen in nearly every hospital and health system.
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MACRA Would Grant Auditors HIPAA Access
A little-known feature of a proposed law adjusting physician reimbursement could create problems with HIPAA compliance, particularly if staff members are not informed.
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Workplace Bullying Brings $1.08 Million Verdict
A nurse in Dallas has been awarded $1.08 million for what a jury found was workplace bullying by her boss, a urologist. However, the plaintiff settled for $440,000 just before the verdict was announced.
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Court Says Reading Test Results Are Not ‘Treatment’
Reading test results does not constitute “treatment” as defined in medical malpractice law, and neither does transmitting the report, according to a Pennsylvania Superior Court common pleas judge.
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Nurse Input Undervalued in Patient Safety
Nurses are an “underused resource” for improving patient safety, according to a recently published study.
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Office of Civil Rights Gives Warning: Small Breaches Are Going To Be Investigated
The Office for Civil Rights announced recently that it will step up its investigations of HIPAA breaches affecting fewer than 500 people.
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Unnecessary Heart Surgery With Pacemaker Results In $21.3 Million Verdict Against Hospital and Doctor
In 2010, a 39-year-old patient was told by a doctor that a catheterization showed a 60% blockage in an artery. He then was told that if he did not have a pacemaker implanted, he would die.
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Feeding Tube in Lung Results in Death And $5 Million Verdict From Jury
In 2008, a hospitalized 88-year-old man was given a feeding tube by a first-year resident at a hospital. An X-ray was ordered to confirm the placement of the feeding tube, but the radiologist incorrectly read the X-ray.