Healthcare Risk Management
RSSArticles
-
$8.5 million verdict is first for concierge medicine
A Palm Beach County, FL, jury recently returned an $8.5 million malpractice verdict against MDVIP, the nation’s largest concierge medicine practice company, which has 784 affiliated physicians in 41 states. The award is the first against MDVIP, and it is believed to be the first malpractice award against any concierge management firm.
-
Hospital reduces falls 75% with bundle of strategies
A hospital is reporting a 75% reduction in falls through the use of a performance improvement team. The team uses a “bundle” of strategies to reduce falls.
-
Experts warn: Patient passports need review by risk management department
Patient passports are gaining in popularity, but risk managers should consider legal and documentation issues. The patient passport is a document that covers basic patient data. A key question is whether the passport becomes part of the medical record.
-
Ebola lawsuit claims nurse was thrust into danger without proper training
The Kafkaesque story told in the lawsuit filed by nurse Nina Pham features a woman who innocently shows up for work one day and finds herself trapped in a nightmare, betrayed by those she trusted to protect her.
-
$21.9 M award in elective steroid injection procedure
A 54-year-old woman suffered from chronic and severe back pain, and she underwent an elective epidural steroid injection. While sedated, the patient’s airway became blocked, which resulted in oxygen deprivation for as long as 10 minutes. Multiple electronic monitors indicated that the patient was not breathing properly, but the physician continued the procedure. Emergency assistance was not called for more than an hour, and the physician failed to report to a subsequent treating hospital that the patient was deprived of oxygen for several minutes. The patient suffered severe brain damage, and she died six years after the procedure from complications related to the brain injury. The jury awarded the widower and estate $21.9 million in damages.
-
Failure to diagnose infection causes toddler death and yields verdict of $1.72 million
Plaintiffs’ 3-month-old daughter was taken to the hospital with a high fever and elevated pulse rate. The ED physician diagnosed an ear infection and discharged the infant with a prescription for antibiotics. Days later she was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis, hypoxic brain injury, and hydrocephalus. She lived for 20 more months. Plaintiffs sued the hospital and the ED physician, and they won a verdict of joint and several liability for $1.7 million.
-
Proper review and plan of care documentation can be your best defense
Are you familiar with the documentation requirements for your department? Do you have an obligation to review and sign off on residents’ notes? Does the documentation in the record reflect your plan of care? If you never reviewed, how do you know? Unfortunately, in one recent case where the medical care could be explained, the matter was settled due to insufficient documentation — which a good plaintiff attorney can characterize as sloppy and inattentive care.
-
Failure to treat bacterial infection from routine injection results in $2.3M verdict
Physicians and healthcare providers must recognize that HAIs are common, and when they are treating a patient who recently has received healthcare services or undergone a procedure involving an injection, extra precautions should be taken to rule out the possibility of an infection.
-
Jury awards verdict of $5.2 million after diagnosis error and above-the-knee amputation
‘High-low’ agreement reduces verdict to $1.5 million
-
Manual helps to improve medication reconciliation
Unintentional medication discrepancies during transitions in care pose a major threat to patient safety, with up to 67% of inpatients having at least one unexplained discrepancy in their prescription medication history at the time of admission, according to the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) in Philadelphia.