Healthcare Risk Management articles from April 2004

Healthcare Risk Management archives from April 2004

Better policies help you prevent being someone's deep pocket for OB claims.
April 1, 2004... Obstetric claims continue to be among the most catastrophic and costly of malpractice cases, so providers must protect themselves from becoming the deep pocket by enforcing policies that promote patient safety and are consistent with the...

Tips for keeping plaintiffs out of your deep pockets.
April 1, 2004... Susan Chmieleski, APRN, JD, CPHRM, director of health care risk management with the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies in Simsbury, CT, offers these tips for keeping the plaintiff's hands out of the hospital's pockets: * Hospital liability...

10 pitfalls that can lead to big OB malpractice cases.
April 1, 2004... Many birth-related lawsuits can be traced back to fundamental flaws in how your OB department or practice is run, says Larry Veltman, MD, chairman of the department obstetrics and gynecology at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland,...

Newborns' brain injury caused by an infection.
April 1, 2004... Risk managers facing claims of newborn brain injury have more support for what the physicians have probably been saying all along: The tragic outcome wasn't caused by anything that happened in your facility. The research could have a major...

Nonpunitive policy helps find real cause of errors.
April 1, 2004... A nonpunitive policy on investigating errors yields better results, especially if you couple it with an amnesty period that promises employees can confess their mistakes without threat of punishment, says Elaine Shaw, director of quality...

Hospital: no punishment for reporting of errors.
April 1, 2004... Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH) in Vincennes, IN, uses this policy to establish a nonpunitive" environment that encourages employees to report errors: GSH has adopted a nonpunitive approach to its management of errors and occurrences. All...

Few hospitals are close to filling Leapfrog goals.
April 1, 2004... If you're feeling bad because your organization has not yet adopted the Leapfrog Group's ambitious campaign to improve patient safety in hospitals, you're not alone. Though the campaign has drawn praise for its goals, few hospitals are close to...

FDA requires bar codes on some drugs, products.
April 1, 2004... Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced recently that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule requiring bar codes on the labels of thousands of human drugs and biological products. The measure will...

Elder abuse case ends with $1 million payment.
April 1, 2004... A lawsuit alleging elder abuse and neglect was settled recently for $1 million, and the plaintiffs insisted that there be no confidentiality clause. Maywood Acres, a long-term care facility in Oxnard, CA, was the target of the lawsuit....

EMTALA: false labor requires docs to certify.(Reader Question)
April 1, 2004... Question: What does Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) say about false labor? If the patient is in false labor, it seems that EMTALA does not apply. But what is required to determine that it is indeed false labor and not true...

CE questions.
April 1, 2004... Nurses participate in this continuing education program by reading the issue, using the provided references for further research, and studying the questions at the end of the issue. Participants should select what they believe to be the correct...

Beaumont makes patients partners in safety efforts: facility defined patients' role in safety.
April 1, 2004... In its recent initiative to minimize medical errors, William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, has made its patients "Partners in Safety." That's the name of the new program, which was launched in 2002. "We knew it was the right thing to...

OSHA delays enforcement of TB standard to July.
April 1, 2004... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will delay until July 1, 2004, enforcement of the general industry respiratory standard for health care providers and other employers required to protect workers from potential exposure...

Fall from a nursing home window leads to a $1.39 million settlement in Maryland.
April 1, 2004... News: Although a nursing home was aware of a male patient's general disorientation and history of self-destructive behavior, the man opened a fifth-floor window and fell to the pavement. He sustained multiple injuries and fractured most of his...

A fall on an escalator leads to a judgment.
April 1, 2004... News: An 83-year-old man went to a hospital to visit his wife. He slipped and fell on an escalator, injuring his head. He was taken to the emergency department (ED) and classified as "nonemergent." Five and a half hours later, the patient...