-
A woman who suffered from long-standing depression presented to the hospital seeking an adjustment of her antidepressant medication. During hospitalization, she suffered seizures. The hospital was unable to determine the etiology of the seizures and transferred the woman to another hospital in the area. Upon transfer, she underwent an examination and laboratory testing.
-
Most hospitals still have not implemented standards proven to improve quality and save lives, even though it has been 10 years since the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) landmark report on the failure of U.S. hospitals to adequately protect patient safety. That is the conclusion of the 2008 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which shows that only 7% of hospitals fully meet Leapfrog medication error prevention standards, and low percentages of hospitals are fully meeting mortality standards.
-
Patients and air ambulance crews are dying at an alarming rate because the air ambulance helicopter industry has little oversight and poor organization, according to a recent safety review.
-
With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) expanding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's (HIPAA) patient health information privacy and security protections beyond what most already considered a compliance nightmare, some legal and privacy experts are saying the expansion may have taken compliance from merely difficult to nearly impossible to achieve.
-
The Harvard study suggesting lower malpractice risk from using electronic medical records (EMRs) must be viewed with some skepticism, says Peter Hoffman, JD, an attorney with Eckert Seamans in Philadelphia.
-
Recent research from Harvard University suggests that the adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) could have a positive effect on reducing malpractice liability.
-
Wider adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) has been a goal in health care for years, and progress is expected now that President Obama's economic stimulus plan includes $19 billion to help medical care facilities switch to electronic records. Risk managers have long thought, or at least hoped, that EMRs would result in fewer medical errors and malpractice lawsuits. The country may find out soon if that is true.
-
Patient privacy rights is hardly a new issue, but it became an especially hot topic in 2008, as reports of unauthorized access to the confidential medical records of celebrities brought to light health care security shortfalls at several medical centers and hospitals.
-
Outpatient surgery managers are ordering more surgical masks, asking staff and patients about recent travel to areas with swine flu outbreaks, and reinforcing hand hygiene in preparation for a potential swine flu pandemic.
-
In next month's issue of Same-Day Surgery, we'll share the best ideas for avoiding liability in the outpatient surgery program.
