Healthcare Risk Management
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Sparsely Charted History and Physical Complicates Med/Mal Defense
Thorough charting on the history and physical of an ED patient can prove the standard of care was met. Still, the medical record often contains little more than a series of checkboxes.
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Patient Safety Act Affords Protection for Adverse Event Investigations
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 affords substantial protections from discovery for information related to adverse events. Hospital leaders and clinicians often do not fully understand how to use these protections.
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Opioid-Related Claims Show Need for Good Processes
The opioid crisis continues to create increased liability risks for healthcare providers, who must contend with more scrutiny over prescribing and management practices. A review of closed claims indicates hospitals and physicians can improve the way they follow guidelines and processes designed to reduce the risk.
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Peer Review Can Lead to Liability Risks; Preventive Steps Needed
The peer review process can lead to litigation when physicians challenge the validity of disciplinary hearings or are denied privileges. Strict adherence to good processes can reduce the risks.
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10 Things Never to Say to a Patient or Family Member
There are certain things nurses and physicians should never say to a patient or family member because they can lead to an increased risk of liability and dissatisfaction. Risk managers should educate clinicians about these comments to avoid.
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Appellate Court Orders Retrial Due to Physician’s Improper Testimony
This case raises an interesting legal issue that may be important and applicable to medical care providers’ defense of medical malpractice actions. Since litigation often arises years after the underlying services are provided, the care providers may no longer remember specific details for one patient who received services years ago. Under specific circumstances, courts permit individuals to testify about their courses of conduct when such courses rise to the level of “habit.”
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Failure to Treat High Blood Pressure Results in Kidney Failure, $31 Million Verdict
A critical lesson from this case focuses on the legal concept of comparative negligence, which concerns whether a patient’s own negligent conduct played a role in causing or worsening his or her injury.
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Cameras Help Monitor Compliance, Reduce Patient Falls
A health system based in Florida has found using cameras can improve compliance with quality and safety efforts, especially when the camera includes a speaker for communicating with people.
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Program Trains Administrative Staff to Prevent Falls
A health plan in California is providing fall prevention training to medical office staff. Nonclinical staff often are overlooked in fall prevention efforts.
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Google/Ascension Partnership Shows HIPAA Gray Areas
The Office for Civil Rights is investigating a huge data-sharing project between Google and Ascension, one of the country’s largest nonprofit health systems, in a case that analysts say highlights the uncertainties of exactly what is and is not allowed under HIPAA.