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More than 90% of surveyed physicians in Pennsylvania reported defensive medicine practices such as overordering of diagnostic tests, unnecessary referrals, and avoidance of high-risk patients, according to a recent study.
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Errors in drug ordering, dosage, and monitoring that may have serious consequences for patients persist in hospitals even after the adoption of computerized medication systems, according to a recent study.
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By Jan J. Gorrie, Esq.
Buchanan Ingersoll PC Tampa, FL
News: Prior to surgery, a patient informed the hospital of her allergy to latex. Despite this warning, a latex catheter was used and she subsequently developed interstitial cystitis. She brought suit against the health care providers and was awarded $3.75 million in damages.
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Foreign objects retained after surgery now are considered sentinel events.
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Any effort to reduce surgical infections and their associated costs may run into a formidable hurdle: Operating room teams tend to assume theyre using best practices when theyre actually not.
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Pediatric falls require different strategies, not same old thing
Falls among elderly patients are high on the priority list for any risk manager, but what about your patients on the other end of the spectrum? Are you doing all you can to prevent falls among your youngest patients?
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Childrens Memorial Medical Center in Chicago and South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, NY, have instituted a number of strategies to reduce falls among its young patients.
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(Editors note: This is the second in a series of articles about the risks of using e-mail in health care. Next months issue will include the third in this series.)
Chances are good that you have a policy on the proper use of e-mail within your organization and when communicating with patients, but it probably is time for an update to keep pace with rapid advances in technology and the way people use e-mail.
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Two hospitals run by Duke University Health System in North Carolina were cited in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) report for mistakenly washing surgical instruments in used hydraulic fluid instead of detergent and failed to notice the mix-up for weeks.
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A new ruling by the Department of Justice (DOJ) sharply limits the governments ability to prosecute people for criminal violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but that may lead prosecutors to hold your organization responsible for those violations instead.
