Healthcare Risk Management articles from June 2007

Healthcare Risk Management archives from June 2007

Hospital changes ID requirements after fake staffer works in the E.(emergency department)
June 1, 2007... Hospital changes ID requirements after fake staffer works in the ED Staff must be diligent, even when it's inconvenient A Florida hospital has significantly strengthened its policies requiring proper identification for all staff in...

Liability mitigated when incident hard to predict.
June 1, 2007... Liability mitigated when incident hard to predict It appears no one was harmed by the bogus emergency department (ED) staffer at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, FL, which means there may be no resulting lawsuit. But even if there were a...

Find out: Are your ED staff parking patients with EMS?(emergency department)(emergency medical services)(Law overview)
June 1, 2007... Find out: Are your ED staff parking patients with EMS? "Parking" patients with emergency medical services (EMS) crews still can happen even when the risk manager knows it is wrong and has taken an official stance against it, experts warn....

CMS pushes for more in informed consent process.(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
June 1, 2007... CMS pushes for more in informed consent process An interpretive guideline that calls for a more thorough informed consent process, whether the patient wants to hear the details or not, is causing consternation for physicians and risk...

Study looks at errors in labeling specimens.(Patient safety incidents up, big gap with best and worst)
June 1, 2007... Study looks at errors in labeling specimens Risk managers know that communication errors often are a root cause of sentinel events in surgery, and a new study is reporting that specimen labeling is a common error that can threaten patient...

Most drug side effects not due to error, study says.
June 1, 2007... Most drug side effects not due to error, study says The vast majority of adverse drug events are side effects from a drug that was prescribed as intended, rather than being the result of a drug administration error, according to recent...

Court decides if EMTALA should apply to inpatients.(Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act)(Hospital San Pablo del Este)(Case overview)
June 1, 2007... Court decides if EMTALA should apply to inpatients A 2003 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation that interpreted the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) does not apply to inpatients does not have the...

Spotlight is on awareness while under anesthesia.
June 1, 2007... Spotlight is on awareness while under anesthesia With National Public Radio, Oprah, and other media outlets covering patient awareness during anesthesia, many providers report an increasing number of questions about the issue from their...

CNE Objectives/Questions.(continuing nursing education)
June 1, 2007... CNE Objectives After reading this issue of Healthcare Risk Management, the CNE participant should be able to: *Describe legal, clinical, financial, and managerial issues pertinent to risk management in health care. *Explain how...

Legal Review and Commentary: Hospital's delay in scheduling heart surgery due to inability to pay leads to $1.2 million verdict.(Case overview)
June 1, 2007... Legal Review and Commentary Hospital's delay in scheduling heart surgery due to inability to pay leads to $1.2 million verdict By Blake J. Delaney, Esq., Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Tampa, FL News: An uninsured man presented to...

Legal Review and Commentary: Woman's death leads to $602,800 verdict.(Case overview)
June 1, 2007... Legal Review and Commentary Woman's death leads to $602,800 verdict News: A woman who required a feeding tube went to the hospital for a colonoscopy. Because of complications experienced during the procedure, doctors inserted a central...