Healthcare Risk Management articles from May 2002

Healthcare Risk Management archives from May 2002

Is it a real sentinel event? Or a mock one? Practice makes perfect in times of crisis; drills and fast response yield valuable information.
May 1, 2002... Sentinel events of all types should be treated like crises requiring an immediate and well-rehearsed response, say risk managers who have developed innovative strategies to prepare their facilities. A mock sentinel event can help your staff...

Stay on top of EMTALA with audio conference.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Keep abreast of all the latest changes with EMTALA Update 2002, an audio conference sponsored by American Health Consultants. The conference, scheduled for Tuesday, June 4, 2002, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, will be presented by...

Computerized prompts should match the policy. (Reader Question).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Question: We're computerizing much of our record keeping and clinical pathways, but we're concerned about consistency between the computer and our existing policies, particularly with regard to a function that prompts the clinician to take...

Unsanitary conditions lead to shakeup in KC.(Kansas City, MO)
May 1, 2002... Add another chapter to the book of Things That Can Keep a Risk Manager Awake at Night. A hospital in Kansas City, MO, is undergoing an inquiry after a report that maggots were found in the noses of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The...

HCA fraud convictions overturned on appeal.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The HCA fraud trials set the stage for the growing emphasis on health care fraud in the past few years, but the story has taken another odd twist with the recent reversal of convictions that put two HCA executives in prison. For health...

Report calls for national errors reporting system.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The National Quality Forum (NQF) recently announced the availability of a report that it says could be used to form the basis for a national, state-based adverse event reporting system. Titled "Serious Reportable Events in Healthcare: A...

NJ sees 250% increase in its malpractice premiums.(New Jersey)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... New Jersey hospitals' medical malpractice insurance premiums jumped an average of 250% in the past three years, and 65% of facilities said skyrocketing insurance rates are driving some physicians out of the practice of medicine. Those...

Insurance carrier says device can avoid injuries.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... A multistate hospital liability insurance carrier has recommended Encision's AEM Surgical Instruments to its client hospitals as a way to reduce the risk of inadvertent injuries during surgery. Columbus, OH-based OHIC Insurance Co. has...

FDA urges recall of some gynecological devices.(Federal Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has urged a manufacturing firm to recall potentially dangerous gynecological surgical devices that may be mislabeled as sterile, and the agency cautions risk managers that they should be on the lookout for...

Joint Commission urges patients to speak up.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Two of the nation's leading advocates of health care quality and safety have launched a national campaign to urge patients to take a role in preventing health care errors. Dubbed "Speak Up," the groundbreaking program sponsored by the Joint...

CA providers advised on safe prescribing, education.(California Medical Association)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... As part of an ongoing campaign to promote patient safety, the California Medical Association (CMA) and a group of liability insurers are sending recommendations for safe prescribing and measures for educating patients about proper medication...

Traumatized health care providers may need stress counseling in horrific aftermath of bioterror attack; a severe test for a mentally tough profession.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... In a finding that is likely relevant to many other states, a recent tabletop exercise in Columbus, OH, found that the health care system may be better prepared to deal with bioterrorism victims than the traumatized frontline providers who give...

Bioterror tips for running a tabletop.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Planners of a recent bioterrorism tabletop exercise in Columbus, OH, (see cover story for more information) offered the following tips for participants in the exercise: * The scenario is plausible, and events occur as they are presented....

Dire straits: plague released at concert; tabletop scenario from first case to aftermath.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Highlights of a recent bioterrorism tabletop exercise run by planners in Ohio (see cover story for more information) included the following timeline of events: Sunday, March 17, 2002, Portsmouth, OH 8:00 a.m.: At the emergency...

Winds of war: Researchers track airborne anthrax: a strikingly rapid and wide dispersion.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Struck by the surprising level of aerosolization after merely opening an envelope, Canadian researchers are now using a spore surrogate to study how airborne anthrax silently spreads within an office building, Bioterrorism Watch has learned....

Catastrophic brain damage follows insulin overdose: $4 million present-dollar settlement in California.
May 1, 2002... News: A 43-year-old diabetic man was hit by a car while riding his bike. He was admitted to a hospital and found to have sustained a closed head injury and multiple fractures. Three weeks later, while his condition was improving, he underwent a...

Post-delivery trouble: $350,000 VA verdict.(Virginia)
May 1, 2002... News: After delivering her third child, a woman was taken to a hospital room. Soon afterward, her husband said, she stopped breathing and turned blue and that he then immediately called for the unit nurse. The unit nurse did not attempt to...