Healthcare Risk Management articles from June 2008

Healthcare Risk Management archives from June 2008

Joint Commission warns of pediatric medication errors, urges action.
June 1, 2008... Joint Commission warns of pediatric medication errors, urges action Most errors involve improper dose or quantity The Joint Commission is ringing the alarm bell on pediatric medication errors, saying the health care community has not...

Training, standardized procedures are key.
June 1, 2008... Training, standardized procedures are key The Joint Commission's April 11, 2008, Sentinel Event Alert offers a number of risk reduction strategies for pediatric medication errors..sup.1 Here are some highlights of The Joint Commission's...

Patient safety can help your bottom line.
June 1, 2008... Patient safety can help your bottom line When it comes to patient safety, everyone says they want to do the right thing for patients. But that noble intention sometimes isn't enough when it comes time to look at the budget and decide which...

Ethics guidelines need risk manager input.
June 1, 2008... Ethics guidelines need risk manager input Health care providers are taking a hard look at how to restrict the free gifts, meals, and travel from pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers that have become a standard part of the...

Group says all gifts should be banned.
June 1, 2008... Group says all gifts should be banned While many health care providers wrangle with exactly how to monitor and restrict gifts from vendors, an influential college association has come up with a direct solution: Ban all drug and medical...

All types of vendors need guidelines.
June 1, 2008... All types of vendors need guidelines When discussing industry relations guidelines, most of the emphasis falls on pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers, because they are the most prominent when it comes to gifting and buying...

NY jury rejects rectal exam lawsuit.
June 1, 2008... NY jury rejects rectal exam lawsuit A New York City jury has decided that a hospital did nothing wrong when it tried to examine the rectum of a construction worker who had been hit on the head by a falling wooden beam. The man had sued the...

Med-mal rates may not mean fewer doctors.
June 1, 2008... Med-mal rates may not mean fewer doctors The common wisdom is that states with high rates of medical malpractice cases, or those considered plaintiff-friendly, will see declining numbers of physicians and specialists in particular. But a...

PA med-mal suits decline for third year.
June 1, 2008... PA med-mal suits decline for third year The number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania declined for a third consecutive year in 2007, according to figures released recently by the state Supreme Court. The number of...

HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Computer hackers step up attacks on health care records.
June 1, 2008... HIPAA Regulatory Alert Computer hackers step up attacks on health care records Why is health care information attractive to hackers? An 85% increase in the number of Internet hacker attacks on its health care clients has been...

HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Tennessee sets up medical info exchange.
June 1, 2008... HIPAA Regulatory Alert Tennessee sets up medical info exchange The State of Tennessee has expanded an existing contract with AT&T to provide the country's first statewide system to electronically exchange patient medical information....

HIPAA Regulatory Alert: NCVHS: Individuals should have control over disclosure.
June 1, 2008... HIPAA Regulatory Alert NCVHS: Individuals should have control over disclosure The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) says the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should adopt a policy for the Nationwide...

HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Health IT national strategy still missing.
June 1, 2008... HIPAA Regulatory Alert Health IT national strategy still missing The Government Accountability Office says that even though the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is undertaking a number of activities to pursue President...

Legal Review & Commentary: Failure to perform emergency C-section leads to $38.5 million verdict in Connecticut.
June 1, 2008... Legal Review & Commentary Failure to perform emergency C-section leads to $38.5 million verdict in Connecticut By Jon T. Gatto, Esq., Blake J. Delaney, Esq., Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Tampa, Florida News: A woman pregnant with twins...

CE objectives/questions.
June 1, 2008... CE objectives After reading this issue of Healthcare Risk Manage-ment, the CE participant should be able to: * Describe legal, clinical, financial, and managerial issues pertinent to risk management in health care. * Explain how...