Employee Management
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Top Factors to Consider in Choosing Outside Counsel
Risk managers may be involved in helping choose outside counsel for the hospital or health system. There are many factors to consider before making the right choice.
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Choose Outside Counsel Carefully; Avoid Common Mistakes
When risk managers are involved in selecting outside counsel for the hospital or health system, the task can seem daunting. Choosing the right counsel involves considering a multitude of factors, including fees, availability, experience, size of the firm, and even whether it seems like a good fit culturally.
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Include Communications in Adverse Event Plans
When planning to respond effectively to adverse events, it is important to include a crisis communication plan. A key part of the plan is a designated crisis team including members for each defined functional area of the organization.
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Checklist for Responding to Adverse Events
Risk managers should create a checklist for responding to adverse events to ensure the most effective response in a potentially stressful and hectic environment, experts say. Risk management should visit the scene of the incident — the floor, the procedure room, ICU, radiology department — prepared to conduct what amounts to a triage of the incident.
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Develop Plan for Responding to Adverse Events
Adverse events happen without warning, yet they require a carefully planned response to minimize damage and facilitate the most effective follow-up investigation. Facilities should plan now for how to respond to an unexpected death, a serious accident, or potential malpractice. It is critical to prepare an adverse event plan so that the response is not cobbled together in the heat of the moment, when emotions are running high.
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Boards of Directors on Notice With Recent Caremark Decisions
Two recent court rulings indicate courts may extend a corporate board’s duty to monitor further than the previous norm. Healthcare corporate directors could be at an increased risk of shareholder lawsuits and personal liability.
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Continuous Visible Lighting Disinfection May Offer Benefits
The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center recently replaced traditional light bulbs in its operating rooms with antibacterial LEDs for a visible-light continuous environmental disinfection system. Research suggests the fixtures can continuously kill harmful bacteria on high-risk surfaces, which should be an improvement over intermittent cleaning. Another common option, ultraviolet lighting, is not safe for human exposure and can only sanitize spaces once patients and staff leave the room.
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Surveillance Programs for Staff Working With Hazardous Medications
Looking for guidance on best practices for a hazardous medication surveillance program? Many employee health professionals may be making changes to their hazardous medication surveillance program in response to United States Pharmacopeia <800> standards.
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NIH Developing a Vaccine for 2019-nCoV
The National Institutes of Health has fast-tracked vaccine development to stop a novel coronavirus emerging from China, but it will be months before it can be administered safely to an anxious public. While promising, vaccine development and testing is a time-consuming process, both to ensure that it works and that it is safe in humans.
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First Case of Person-to-Person Transmission in the United States
The first case of person-to-person spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus emerging in the United States has occurred, as the husband of a previously identified case in Illinois has been hospitalized, the CDC reported on Jan. 30. The man is the first U.S. case with no history of travel to China. Public health officials announced the woman became ill after returning from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of what is threatening to become a global outbreak. She has been hospitalized, and her husband became ill and also was hospitalized. They both are in stable condition.