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After an instance of wrong-site surgery that still defies explanation, officials at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence agreed to conduct an extensive examination of safety procedures in the surgery department.
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Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are clearly on the radar of Kathleen Sebelius, the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She recently called for action to prevent HAIs in praising two new HHS reports on the quality of health care in America.
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News: A woman suffered cardiac arrest while at home. Hospital paramedics arrived, but attempts to resuscitate her with a Lifepak 11 monitor and defibrillator failed. Forty minutes later, the woman was pronounced dead. The decedent's estate sued the hospital and was awarded $5.3 million in damages.
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Illustrating the potential liability when a test result falls through the cracks, a Philadelphia jury recently awarded a widow $2.19 million in a malpractice suit against St. Joseph's Hospital and two ED physicians.
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Every risk manager wants to believe that the credentialing process has properly vetted all the organization's health care professionals to ensure that they are qualified and have no known criminal record. But that is not always the case. Too often, risk managers get a phone call alerting them that one of their staff or physicians has a problem that did not show up in the credentialing process.
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Testifying before a crowded hearing in Washington, DC, on the oversight of helicopter medical services, the head of a leading air ambulance organization recently promised lawmakers that the dismal safety record of the industry can be improved.
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News: A woman presented at a hospital emergency department (ED) with abdominal pain. X-rays and a CT scan were performed. The emergency physician discussed the findings with a radiologist who noted the findings in his report. The emergency physician noted the CT as negative and ordered the woman to take morphine and fentanyl. Twelve hours later, the woman was seen by a different physician, who reviewed the previous record but did not mention the X-rays or the CT scan.
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The potential benefits of electronic medical records (EMRs) are easier to spot than the possible drawbacks, according to some risk managers. Consider both the pros and cons of EMRs before adopting the technology, they say.
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Patient privacy rights is hardly a new issue, but it became an especially hot topic in 2008, as reports of unauthorized access to the confidential medical records of celebrities brought to light health care security shortfalls at several medical centers and hospitals.
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Wider adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) has been a goal in health care for years, and progress is expected now that President Obama's economic stimulus plan includes $19 billion to help medical care facilities switch to electronic records. Risk managers have long thought, or at least hoped, that EMRs would result in fewer medical errors and malpractice lawsuits. The country may find out soon if that is true.
