Healthcare Risk Management
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Patients' mishandled funds could lead to RAC audits
Health care providers are becoming more familiar with the many errors that can trigger a RAC audit, but what is much lesser known among the health care community is that a patient's mismanagement of Medicare set-aside (MSA) funds post-settlement also could trigger an audit. -
Splash and splatter risk often underestimated
The risk of infection from exposure to a patient's bodily fluids gained great attention over the past 20 years, spurred by the risk of exposure to HIV, and that heightened awareness has led to improvements in needlestick prevention. But another route of exposure to bodily fluids has not received adequate attention, say some experts. -
Patient catches fire during organ surgery
A recent example of a surgical fire reported by Mary A. Herman, MD, PhD, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, illustrates how such an incident can occur in routine circumstances. -
Choice of tool can lower risk of airway fires
About 650 surgical fires are reported in U.S. hospitals each year, according to the nonprofit ECRI Institute in Plymouth Meeting, PA, and there are another three to four times as many near-misses. Fires during surgery can be extremely serious, causing significant injuries and death to both patients and clinicians. -
Watch for interstate patients and enforcement
Because HIPAA can be enforced by state attorneys general and not just the feds, risk managers should study any interstate connections that could come into play if there is a privacy breach... -
Hospital reduces alarms by 80% with changes
A pediatric hospital reduced unnecessary alarms by 80% by implementing changes at the bedside. Alarm fatigue has been cited as a significant threat to patient safety. -
Workplace violence a growing threat
The video is chilling to anyone, but especially to nurses who can imagine being in exactly the same vulnerable position. A man’s brutal attack on unit nurses at St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, MN, is putting the spotlight on violence in healthcare facilities and the potential harm facing the victims and the hospital.
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Health system cuts med errors by 29%
The implementation of an online order entry system at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor has produced a 29% reduction in medication errors while at the same time cutting by 40% the time between ordering and administering urgent medications. -
Defensive medicine carries hefty price tag, study finds
A first-of-its-kind survey of physicians by the Massachusetts Medical Society on the practice of "defensive medicine" - tests, procedures, referrals, hospitalizations, or prescriptions ordered by physicians out of fear of being sued - has shown that the practice is widespread and adds billions of dollars to the cost of health care in that state alone. -
Guest Column: Use social influence to fight disruptive behavior
With The Joint Commission's recent announcement that rude language and hostile behavior pose serious threats to patient safety and quality of care, risk managers are on high alert for disruptive behavior and searching for ways to combat it.