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SARS requires constant readiness, at least until health authorities determine that the virus is no longer spreading, says Susan Kinter, RN, JD, director of claims litigation and risk management at the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore.
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Health care risk managers should exercise caution when implementing SARS-related work restrictions and other responses to the deadly virus, says Kent Jonas, JD, a labor and employment attorney with the firm of Thelen, Reid & Priest in San Francisco. Acting hastily might result in a lawsuit or charges of federal labor violations, he warns.
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A Hayward, CA, jury recently returned a $14.85 million verdict against John Carper, MD, an Alameda family practitioner, and Alameda (CA) Hospital for delay in performing a cesarean, resulting in brain damage and cerebral palsy.
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A $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases would have saved 25% of nearly $1.2 billion in malpractice settlements and awards paid in Florida in just three years, according to a new report by Floridians for Quality Affordable Healthcare.
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A coalition of New Yorks leading health care providers and workers, representing close to 75 hospitals, is protesting a recent court ruling that they say has sent medical malpractice premiums spiraling out of control in New York State.
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The Department of Health and Human Services says its interim final rule establishing rules of procedure for the imposition of civil monetary penalties on entities that violate standards adopted under the administrative simplification provisions of HIPAA will not be in effect after Sept. 16, 2003, because it will be replaced by a final enforcement rule.
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When two police officers arrived at a hospital emergency department asking to be informed if the facility had treated an elderly woman reported missing by her family, hospital staff contacted their outside legal counsel for advice because of wariness about HIPAA privacy regulations. And its good they did.
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As with many areas of health care, new approaches in technology have been sought to ease the way into compliance with HIPAA. One example is the HIPAA GUARD program from Monterey, CA-based Integritas Inc.
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After being admitted to a hospital for hip pain, a 69-year-old woman was allowed to walk about unassisted. Days later, X-rays showed she had a hip fracture, which was operated on. She was transferred to the nursing home next door to recuperate and be rehabilitated.
