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It was a "perfect storm," says Paula Swain, director of accreditation and regulatory for Novant Health/Presbyterian Healthcare in Charlotte, NC.
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If lucky, the typical obstetrician sees a postpartum hemorrhage just a handful of times in his or her career. The problem is that the rarity makes it hard to prepare for the emergency. And even if the doctor is ready, will the team around the doctor know what to do without experience?
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There is no question that hospitals face innumerable challenges in meeting the "meaningful use" of health information technology (HIT) criteria established by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009.
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Over the last 20 years, the typical American has seen exposure to ionizing radiation double. Most of the time, patients are sent for imaging without the prescribing physician having any idea of how much other radiation the patient has been exposed to.
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Florida has joined a rarified group of states that provide no protection for any documents produced as part of peer review for non-physician providers.
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Seemingly, no one is happy with his or her block schedule at the hospital or the surgery center. After spending too much time on this issue with our own centers and hearing about others concerns, it is, quite honestly, irritating that such a simple process can be such a conundrum for most everyone.
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A $3.3 million verdict against a surgeon who apologized to his patient's family for her death is leading some outpatient surgery professionals to wonder if the push for apologies and transparency has a dark side. Are managers encouraging physicians to say something that actually will work against them in court?
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A patient arrived from an assisted living facility with a documented allergy on the chart. Despite this safeguard, the patient still received an incorrect medication prior to the procedure. Fortunately, in this case, there was no lasting harm to the patient.
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Disclosing a medical error is never easy, but it can become especially complicated when you need to tell the patient that a previous provider was in the wrong. This delicate situation often requires communication with the other provider before you tell the patient anything.
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Educators often talk about "teachable moments," those times when the patient is ready to learn. This moment might be in a waiting area, exam room, or a hospital bed. To take advantage of these times, staff members in the Section of Patient Education at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, look for new ways to deliver patient education.
