Hospital
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Complex consent process is “mired in ethical problems”
Is a prospective research participant struggling to comprehend a lengthy form on the risks and benefits of the study? “A complex consent process is mired in ethical problems,” says Linda Aldoory, PhD, an associate professor of communication at the University of Maryland in College Park.
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Are opioid ‘pain agreements’ on solid ethical ground?
Failure to prescribe opioid analgesics in a manner that reflects “pharmacovigilance” can expose a physician not only to charges of unprofessional practice, but in extreme cases, even criminal prosecution, warns Ben A. Rich, JD, PhD, emeritus professor of internal medicine (Bioethics) at UC Davis School of Medicine. Malpractice lawsuits alleging the physician’s prescribing led to drug-addicted patients are another concern.
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Good ethical policies can empower clinicians and improve bottom line
While ethics consults typically focus on individual patients’ unique situations, many involve scenarios that recur repeatedly. These are ideally addressed at an organizationwide level, according to Edward J. Dunn, MD, ScD, a fellow in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. Dunn is a former director of the Integrated Ethics Program at Lexington (KY) VA Medical Center.
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Failure to administer diagnostic tests or refer to specialist leads to death, $8.25 million liability
In 2009, a 68-year-old man suffering from arthritis in his knee checked into a hospital for a total knee replacement. Following the surgery, the man complained of confusion and disorientation and became hypoxic and anemic.
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Failure to adequately supervise a first-year resident leads to $1.57 million jury award against hospital
In 2011, a man fell 16 feet from a scaffold and landed on a concrete slab. The man was airlifted to a local hospital with a broken left leg, left foot, and left elbow. The man’s wife met him at the hospital, and the two stayed at the hospital while the man was treated. According to court documents, the next day the man began complaining to his wife of increasing pain in his left arm.
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Hospital fires two over NFL player’s records
Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami has fired two employees for inappropriately accessing the medical records of an NFL football player and settled a related lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
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Flexible resident duty hour policies safe for patients?
Allowing residents the flexibility to work longer shifts than allowed in the United States and to take less time off between shifts to provide continuity of patient care is not associated with a greater risk to patients of early serious postoperative complications or death, according to study results involving 117 U.S. general surgery residency programs and 151 hospitals.
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HIPAA settlement addresses medical device users
Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, MA, has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. Lahey will pay $850,000 and will adopt a “robust” corrective action plan to correct deficiencies in its HIPAA compliance program, OCR reports. Lahey is a nonprofit teaching hospital affiliated with Tufts Medical School.
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Communication failure cited in 30% of med mal
Thirty percent of all medical malpractice claims involve a communication failure, according to a new report. These claims involve communication breakdowns in which acts, figures, or findings got lost between the individuals who had that information and those who needed it, across the spectrum of healthcare services and settings.
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$750K settlement shows need for organizationwide risk analysis
The University of Washington Medicine in Seattle has agreed to settle charges that it potentially violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Security Rule by failing to implement policies and procedures to prevent, detect, contain, and correct security violations.