Healthcare Risk Management
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CMS Issues First Fines for Noncompliance with Transparency Rule
CMS has issued the first fines for violations of the Hospital Price Transparency Rule, and more penalties are expected. The first two hospitals fined for violations of the rule, both in Georgia, received written warnings and were allowed more than four months to bring their operations in compliance with the rule.
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Physician Phone Consultation Leads to Potential Liability
This case is an example of how a physician-patient relationship can be formed, even when no direct contact occurs between the physician and patient, or even when the physician is informally consulted by phone.
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Hospital EDs May See Legal Issues After Abortion Ruling
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, sending the issue of abortion rights back to the states, could lead to difficult legal situations for some EDs. Risk managers should consider their state laws and plan for potential issues. One of the first issues to consider is how laws restricting abortion intersect with EMTALA.
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Patient's Gangrene Results in Amputation, Hospital's Potential Liability
In this case, evidentiary concerns presented material issues for the defendant hospital, which was disputing liability early in the litigation.
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Nurses Confirm Staff Shortages, Intention to Leave
Research from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses underscores the severity of nurse staffing shortages and portends continuing problems with retention.
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Staffing Shortages Could Increase Liability Risks
Staffing shortages can cause a wide range of problems within a healthcare facility. Most of those issues can lead to greater liability risks. Risk managers are struggling to alleviate those risks even as the staffing challenge gets progressively worse. -
Tracking Tool on Hospital Websites Can Lead to HIPAA Breaches
Many hospital websites include a tracking tool that collects protected health information and sends it to Facebook, posing the risk of major HIPAA breaches. In some cases, the hospital leadership has no idea such a tracking tool is on their website. The tracker automatically sends Facebook a packet of data when a consumer schedules a doctor’s appointment on the website.
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OCR Releases Guidance on Audio-Only Telehealth
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued guidance on how covered entities can use audio-only telehealth services in compliance with HIPAA. In line with what is referred to as the common carrier exception, OCR clarified the Security Rule does not apply to audio-only telehealth services provided by a covered entity that is using a standard landline.
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Report: Patients Sicker Now Than Before the COVID-19 Pandemic
Delayed care also driving longer lengths of stay, price increases for labor and supplies.
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EPA, FDA Partner on Safer Medical Device Sterilization
Agencies seek cuts to ethylene oxide emissions, safe alternatives.