Healthcare Risk Management
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Problem lists can threaten safety, pose liability risks
Many hospitals use problem lists as a way to catalog all health issues affecting a patient, or at least those that are particularly noteworthy for other physicians. A recent study and malpractice case, however, highlight the risk posed by having a policy on problem lists and not following it.
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Data suggests tort reform decreases patient safety
Risk managers want to lower malpractice damages and improve patient safety, but recent research suggests that those goals might be at odds with each other. Legislation that caps malpractice damages actually might lead clinicians to make more errors. The reason? They relax, because they know the potential consequences are limited.
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Surgeons respond well to wrong-site stories
Research reports from the Veterans Health Administration suggest that surgeons are affected by hearing tales of wrong-site errors and the lessons learned, but that adherence to the Universal Protocol does not prevent the errors.
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Communication issues lead to wrong-site errors
Despite years of emphasis on using the Universal Protocol and site marking, wrong-site errors occur in about one in 100,000 surgeries, according to a recent study in the journal Surgery.
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Problem of wrong-site surgery and retained objects won’t go away
Wrong-site surgery errors persist even after years of concerted efforts to avoid them, and some of the standard prevention policies and procedures might not be effective enough. Some hospitals are finding other ways to prevent this never event and other errors.
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Black boxes are similar to birth videos and other taped recordings
The data from surgical “black boxes” would revive liability concerns that previously arose from patients recording childbirth and the practice of surgeons giving patients a video of their procedure to take home, legal experts say.
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The Surgical Black Box is Here
There's growing interest in using systems during surgery to record a wealth of information, such as data from medical devices.
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Clarification
In the August issue of Legal Review & Commentary, in the story “Failure to update a patient’s EHRs leads to $35.4 million verdict against hospital,” we should have said that the plaintiff’s brain abnormalities required her treating physician to record her condition on a paper Problem List.
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Physician not following through on proposed plan costs hospital $4.8 million
An adult female went into the hospital for a consultation regarding surgery on her bowel. Upon examination and confirmation the woman was suffering from a leaky bowel, the surgeon recommended a laparoscopic ileocecectomy, which is a less invasive form of surgery using small incisions, special instruments, and cameras.
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Failure to transfer patient to a qualified facility results in $23 million jury verdict
In 2010, an infant was born prematurely and with a severe white matter brain injury known as severe cystic periventricular leukomalacia, which is a brain issue that will lead to a lifetime of complications. Earlier that same year, the mother of the child went to her obstetrician for routine tests, which revealed she had high blood pressure and protein in her urine.