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A 58-year-old man presented at the hospital for a heart transplant. His heart was removed and discarded, and a donor heart was transplanted into the man. The man never awoke from the surgery and died three days later. The man's estate sued the hospital and the physician who harvested the heart.
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What is a hospital to do when it has already invested in care for an undocumented, uninsured immigrant who has a traumatic brain injury?
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Planning for the discharge of a patient as soon as that person enters the emergency department is not heartless or an effort to push patients out the door as a cost-saving tool...
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Patrick J. Hurd, JD, an attorney with LeclairRyan in Norfolk, VA, has seen cases in which hospitals struggled to discharge illegal immigrants, and he says the keys to success are proceeding cautiously and prudently, documenting the choices made and the rationale behind each.
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The allegations of Medicare fraud at the Tulare (CA) Regional Medical Center and its parent, the Tulare District Healthcare System, show how whistle-blower cases can go beyond the classic type of kickbacks...
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Let people apologize when appropriate, but remember that what you say in private may not be suitable for the public.
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A Maryland hospital and one of its subcontractors are being sued for malpractice by the family of a man who say a technician mistakenly released a clamp that allowed the patient to bleed to death before anyone noticed the error.
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A 59-year-old woman was admitted to the observation area of a local hospital. The woman was thought to have had an allergic reaction to cholesterol medication she was taking, and the staff recommended she remain under observation for 23 hours. The next morning, the woman experienced chest pains and the nurse administered meperidine and nitroglycerine. The nurse did not inform the attending physician of the administration. The woman was discharged and died the same day.
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To minimize damage from RAC audits, risk managers should make sure their facilities have highly competent case managers available seven days per week, advises Bill Hammock, RN, BSN, CMC, ACM, vice president and senior consultant in the Global Clinical Health Care Consulting Practice of Marsh in Nashville, TN.
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The philosophy behind the RAC program at Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH), based in Escondido, CA, is that it is better to find problems yourself before an auditor finds them for you.
