Healthcare Risk Management articles from May 2009

Healthcare Risk Management archives from May 2009

Facebook firings show privacy concerns with social networking sites.
May 1, 2009... Facebook firings show privacy concerns with social networking sites Remind staff about slippery slope with online postings When it seems as though nearly everyone is on Facebook, MySpace, or other social networking sites, you can be...

Search online for postings by employees, new hires.
May 1, 2009... Search online for postings by employees, new hires The popularity of social networking sites can be helpful when it comes to screening new employees and seeing what current employees are saying on the Internet, says Jeffrey M. Pincus, JD, a...

Use contract, specific policy to protect privacy.
May 1, 2009... Use contract, specific policy to protect privacy The best way to deal with the issue of hospital employees snooping in patient records and spreading private information may be with a contract and a specific policy about blogging or social...

No 'safe' way to gossip about patient info.
May 1, 2009... No 'safe' way to gossip about patient info Risk managers must mitigate the natural human temptation to snoop and gossip, because the potential legal ramifications can be huge, says Robert Wolin, JD, a partner with the law firm Baker...

Temp surgeons creating concerns for risk managers.
May 1, 2009... Temp surgeons creating concerns for risk managers General surgeons have become scarcer in hospitals across the country, many of them beaten down by diminishing payments and grueling work hours, and some lured away by specialized surgery...

Consider modifying bylaws to reduce locum tenens risk.
May 1, 2009... Consider modifying bylaws to reduce locum tenens risk Extending temporary privileges to a traveling surgeon can be risky business, says Leilani Kicklighter, RN, ARM, MBA, CPHRM, LHRM, a patient safety and risk management consultant with The...

Alert system helps stop error before it harms.(Clinical report)
May 1, 2009... Alert system helps stop error before it harms At Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) in Seattle, staff are not only encouraged to speak up when they see errors or deficiencies that could harm a patient, they are required to do so. A...

Checklist helps improve OR safety in just minutes.(operating room)
May 1, 2009... Checklist helps improve OR safety in just minutes With hospitals all over the country realizing that there is a benefit in having the surgical team pause, take a breath, and double-check that everything is in order before proceeding, a...

Legal Review & Commentary: Failure to review contact lens solution instructions leads to $3.5M NY settlement.
May 1, 2009... Legal Review & Commentary Failure to review contact lens solution instructions leads to $3.5M NY settlement By Radha V. Bachman, Esq. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Tampa, FL and Leilani Kicklighter, RN, ARM, MBA, CPHRM,...

Legal Review & Commentary: Improper blood transfusion leads to $35.3M settlement.
May 1, 2009... Legal Review & Commentary Improper blood transfusion leads to $35.3M settlement News: A pre-eclamptic pregnant woman developed HELLP syndrome. Treatment for the syndrome was unsuccessful, and an emergency cesarean was conducted when...

HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Multifaceted approach builds compliance culture.
May 1, 2009... HIPAA Regulatory Alert Multifaceted approach builds compliance culture How to engender compliance with HIPAA One of the most difficult challenges in a health care setting is creating or changing culture, and this certainly applies...

HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Could photographing an ED patient get you sued?(emergency department)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act )
May 1, 2009... HIPAA Regulatory Alert Could photographing an ED patient get you sued? Without consent, you are asking for a lawsuit Photographs of ED patients' clinical findings are being taken more frequently, due to the ubiquity of digital...

CE Objectives/Questions.(continuing education)
May 1, 2009... CE Objectives After reading this issue of Healthcare Risk Management, the CE participant should be able to: • Describe legal, clinical, financial, and managerial issues pertinent to risk management in health care. •...