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A poor working relationship with the compliance officer can lead to more than just frustration and the occasional argument, cautions George B. Breen, JD, an attorney with the law firm of Epstein Becker Green in New York City. It also could lead to substantial liability for the healthcare provider.
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As the January 2012 deadline for hospitals to convert to HIPAA Version 5010 quickly approaches, a survey conducted by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) has found that medical practices are lagging in the race to meet 5010 deadlines. In fact, 45.2% of practices report that they have not yet started implementation or software upgrades.
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A good working relationship with the compliance officer will not only avoid squabbles over turf but actually enhance the productivity of both offices, says Timothy E.J. Folk, a producer with The Graham Co., a healthcare consulting company in Philadelphia.
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The question of whether to inform patients of a previous provider's error was highlighted recently in a discussion posted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Thomas H. Gallagher, MD, associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington in Seattle, discussed the case of a 4-year-old boy whose brain swelling was not detected in a CT scan.
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A $3.3 million verdict against a doctor who apologized to his patient's family for her death is leading some healthcare professionals to wonder if the push for apologies and transparency has a dark side. Are risk managers encouraging physicians to say something that actually will work against them in court?
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Paul Simon said there were 50 ways to leave your lover, and Grena Porto, RN, MS, ARM, CPHRM, says there are at least that many ways to say you're sorry ... without admitting responsibility.
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Tertiary care providers can be so influenced by seeing the end results of a supposed error the patient's condition is worsened that they make overly harsh judgments about the previous provider's care, says Matson Sewell, MS, MPH, CPHRM, principal with Matson Sewell Healthcare Consulting in Sacramento, CA. Those judgments can cause serious damage to the hospitals.
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A Philadelphia hospital is facing a lawsuit from the relatives of a man whose chemist wife is accused of poisoning him with thallium.
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Healthcare providers know that many medical malpractice claims are without merit, but the common wisdom is that a great many of those are settled anyway. A new report, however, indicates that only one in five malpractice claims against doctors leads to a settlement or other payout.
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A woman with a normal pregnancy was admitted to the hospital after going into labor. The woman first was seen by the attending OB physician, who later went off duty. Another physician assumed responsibility in the afternoon and was extremely busy. An examination of the woman showed that the baby was occiput posterior.
