Healthcare Risk Management articles from June 2004

Healthcare Risk Management archives from June 2004

Liability waivers can be effective in some cases, but they're no panacea: more useful for elective procedures; enforceability still in question.
June 1, 2004... "You're fed up with being dragged into every lawsuit that has even the slightest connection to your institution, so you daydream about having patients just sign a waiver up front promising to never sue you for anything. Nice fantasy, but...

Pony rides definitely need waiver of liability.
June 1, 2004... Liability waivers are best used for voluntary activities or when patients refuse your clinician's advice, says Jeffrey Driver, JD, MBA, chief risk officer with Stanford (CA) University Medical Center and president of the American Society for...

Defamation lawsuits may chill reporting of docs.
June 1, 2004... A closely watched case in Connecticut has some observers worried that health care providers will be discouraged from reporting information about physicians to state boards, other monitoring groups, and even a hospital's internal peer review...

Phone advice could be major liability risk.
June 1, 2004... The risk of giving advice to patients by phone should be well known to risk managers, and most have educated staff about what not to say to patients with questions. Add in the automated answering systems that urge patients to call 911 for...

Union files OSHA complaint about needlestick safety.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Citing serious, concerns about needle safety at Connecticut's largest hospital, a union representing hospital service workers has filed a formal complaint with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Washington, DC....

Failure to diagnose cancer yields $8 million verdict.
June 1, 2004... A Dallas County, TX, jury has awarded an $8 million verdict to a woman and her husband after a group of doctors and other medical professionals failed to diagnose the woman's breast cancer for more than a year after she discovered a lump in her...

ISMP warns of critical issue with drug mix-up.(Institute for Safe Medication Practices)
June 1, 2004... The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in Huntington Valley, PA, has issued a special alert about lookalike packaging of two drugs that can lead to serious adverse events. The ISMP urges risk managers to send the alert to the...

There are exceptions to EMTALA during disasters.(Reader Question)(Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act)
June 1, 2004... Question: I've heard that the final Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) states that the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not sanction hospitals for inappropriate transfers during a national emergency if...

Liability crisis threatens health care access.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... A poll released in March by the Health Coalition on Liability and Access reveals that Americans believe a growing crisis in health care liability is pushing health care costs up and forcing good doctors out of medical practice. Of those polled,...

CE questions.
June 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...

Failure to treat asthmatic patient results in brain damage: $5 million NY verdict.
June 1, 2004... News: A woman having an asthma attack presented at the emergency department (ED). After being hospitalized for three days, the patient's daughter came to visit and found her mother nonresponsive and blue. The patient was resuscitated; however,...

Alleged assault not treated: patient wins $300k verdict.
June 1, 2004... News: A patient alleged that an equipment technician sexually assaulted her after she found her buttocks exposed and seminal fluid in her groin area. After reporting the situation to several nurses, the patient was given medication to calm her,...