Healthcare Risk Management – February 1, 2020
February 1, 2020
View Issues
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10 Things Never to Say to a Patient or Family Member
There are certain things nurses and physicians should never say to a patient or family member because they can lead to an increased risk of liability and dissatisfaction. Risk managers should educate clinicians about these comments to avoid.
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Peer Review Can Lead to Liability Risks; Preventive Steps Needed
The peer review process can lead to litigation when physicians challenge the validity of disciplinary hearings or are denied privileges. Strict adherence to good processes can reduce the risks.
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Opioid-Related Claims Show Need for Good Processes
The opioid crisis continues to create increased liability risks for healthcare providers, who must contend with more scrutiny over prescribing and management practices. A review of closed claims indicates hospitals and physicians can improve the way they follow guidelines and processes designed to reduce the risk.
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Patient Safety Act Affords Protection for Adverse Event Investigations
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 affords substantial protections from discovery for information related to adverse events. Hospital leaders and clinicians often do not fully understand how to use these protections.
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Sparsely Charted History and Physical Complicates Med/Mal Defense
Thorough charting on the history and physical of an ED patient can prove the standard of care was met. Still, the medical record often contains little more than a series of checkboxes.
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Birth Injury Litigation Results in $7.5 Million Settlement
This case raises a few lessons for physicians and care providers: whether the physicians failed to preserve and test either cord blood gases or the placenta, whether the physicians breached the applicable standard of care regarding the use of labor-inducing drugs and failing to monitor the fetus prior to delivery, and whether the physicians failed to ensure employees were aware of and complied with the hospital’s policies and procedures.
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Expert’s Inadequate Testimony Leads to Dismissal of Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Although the facts of the case seem to indicate the physician acted within the accepted standard of care, the outcome may have been different had the patient selected a more experienced, better-suited expert and presented his claim with more specificity.