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When two police officers arrived at a hospital emergency department asking to be informed if the facility had treated an elderly woman reported missing by her family, hospital staff contacted their outside legal counsel for advice because of wariness about HIPAA privacy regulations. And its good they did.
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The Department of Health and Human Services says its interim final rule establishing rules of procedure for the imposition of civil monetary penalties on entities that violate standards adopted under the administrative simplification provisions of HIPAA will not be in effect after Sept. 16, 2003, because it will be replaced by a final enforcement rule.
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A coalition of New Yorks leading health care providers and workers, representing close to 75 hospitals, is protesting a recent court ruling that they say has sent medical malpractice premiums spiraling out of control in New York State.
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A $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases would have saved 25% of nearly $1.2 billion in malpractice settlements and awards paid in Florida in just three years, according to a new report by Floridians for Quality Affordable Healthcare.
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A Hayward, CA, jury recently returned a $14.85 million verdict against John Carper, MD, an Alameda family practitioner, and Alameda (CA) Hospital for delay in performing a cesarean, resulting in brain damage and cerebral palsy.
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Health care risk managers should exercise caution when implementing SARS-related work restrictions and other responses to the deadly virus, says Kent Jonas, JD, a labor and employment attorney with the firm of Thelen, Reid & Priest in San Francisco. Acting hastily might result in a lawsuit or charges of federal labor violations, he warns.
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SARS requires constant readiness, at least until health authorities determine that the virus is no longer spreading, says Susan Kinter, RN, JD, director of claims litigation and risk management at the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore.
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The risk of acquiring HIV infection from occupational exposures may be even lower than the three in 1,000 rate that is commonly cited.
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Drug screening rarely comes out positive in new hires, but the screening itself may dissuade drug users from applying for jobs. The University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina in Greenville, NC, was able to make the process more cost-effective by implementing random drug screening.