Healthcare Risk Management articles from September 2005

Healthcare Risk Management archives from September 2005

Rise in medmal premiums prompts dispute over potential of profiteering.
September 1, 2005... Rise in medmal premiums prompts dispute over potential of profiteering But real reason may be more complicated, analysts say Malpractice insurers are stinging from charges of profiteering from insurance premiums by new data showing...

Report suggests claims are falling as rates keep rising.(Report)
September 1, 2005... Report suggests claims are falling as rates keep rising These are the key findings in the recent report from the Center for Justice & Democracy in New York City: * Actual payouts. Over the last five years, the amount the major...

Median awards on an upward trend in cases.
September 1, 2005... Median awards on an upward trend in cases Plaintiff awards for medical malpractice cases are on the rise, according to a report from Jury Verdict Research, a company in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, that analyzes verdicts. Plaintiffs...

Technology is but one solution to e-mail security.(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... Technology is but one solution to e-mail security (Editor's note: This the last in our series of articles on the risks of using e-mail in health care.) Electronic safeguards for e-mail in health care, like sophisticated encryption...

JCAHO issues alert on fatal misuse of a powerful drug.
September 1, 2005... JCAHO issues alert on fatal misuse of a powerful drug Patients undergoing chemotherapy to fight leukemia and lymphoma are sometimes being accidentally injected with a powerful cancer-fighting drug in an incorrect way that results in...

Hospital uses high-tech system to check for errors.
September 1, 2005... Hospital uses high-tech system to check for errors Every year, pharmacists at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor prepare a million doses of medicines for thousands of young and often very ill...

Joint Commission starts random validation surveys.(Brief article)
September 1, 2005... Joint Commission starts random validation surveys If you enjoyed your triennial survey, here's a chance to do it all over again the next week. JCAHO recently announced that it has begun random announced "validation surveys" (RAVs) to...

Reader Question: Reviewing trouble spots ensures good compliance.
September 1, 2005... Reviewing trouble spots ensures good compliance Question: I think we've done a good job of educating our staff about compliance with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), but I still worry that someone will slip up....

Legal Review & Commentary: Denial to hospital admittance results in a suicide; $242,500 settlement in Texas.
September 1, 2005... Legal Review & Commentary Denial to hospital admittance results in a suicide; $242,500 settlement in Texas By Jan J. Gorrie, Esq. Buchanan Ingersoll PC Tampa, FL News: A man diagnosed with bipolar disorder became...

Legal Review & Commentary: Post-surgical drugs get the blame in $500,000 verdict.
September 1, 2005... Legal Review & Commentary Post-surgical drugs get the blame in $500,000 verdict News: After undergoing brow-lift plastic surgery, a young woman blamed her subsequent delirium on the adverse effects of the post-surgery drugs she...

HIPAA Regulatory alert: Ruling on criminal prosecution under HIPAA raises furor.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
September 1, 2005... HIPAA Regulatory alert Ruling on criminal prosecution under HIPAA raises furor Critics say legal opinion will allow those who abuse privacy information to escape prosecution A Department of Justice legal opinion, issued at the...

HIPAA Regulatory alert: Hospitals don't want fined entities identified.
September 1, 2005... HIPAA Regulatory alert Hospitals don't want fined entities identified The American Hospital Association (AHA) says it is "troubled" by a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plan to publicize the identity of those covered...

HIPAA Regulatory alert: Transaction standard is far from projected uniformity.
September 1, 2005... HIPAA Regulatory alert Transaction standard is far from projected uniformity The HIPAA transaction standards have not resulted in the uniformity and efficiency envisioned when HIPAA was adopted. That's the opinion of the HIPAA...

CE objectives/questions.
September 1, 2005... 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. * Explain how...