Healthcare Risk Management – March 1, 2003
March 1, 2003
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Speak my language: Lax interpreting may be a root cause of medical errors
Translating medical information for patients who dont speak English has always been a difficult issue for health care providers, but evidence is mounting to suggest that health care providers risk major lawsuits from medical errors traced to inadequate translation. -
Checklist: These tips may help reduce your liability
These tips on improving your translation services are offered by Glenn Flores, MD, director of community outcomes in the department of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and Grena Porto, RN, ARM, DFASHRM, senior director of clinical operations at VHA Inc. in Berwyn, PA, and past president of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management. -
Computer link helps with an immediate translation
High technology can be a solution to improving your translation services. One example is Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, IL, which recently implemented a system providing audiovisual interpreting services on demand for non-English-speaking or hearing-impaired patients. -
Bush pushes for CA-style reform as doctors rebel
Doctors went on strike recently in several states to protest the malpractice crisis, as President Bush called for significant malpractice reform that would cap damages and rein in the trial attorneys blamed for much of the problem. Californias Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA) could be the solution, some say. -
Uterus branding shows risk and benefits of a videotape
In a recent lawsuit, a woman accused her doctor of branding his alma maters initials on her uterus during surgery. A legal expert says the crux for risk managers is how the videotape of the surgery both caused the lawsuit and might end it in the doctors favor. -
Safe practices approved to help reduce medical errors
The National Quality Forum (NQF) announced recently that it had approved 26 safe practices that should be universally utilized in health care to reduce the risk of adverse events. Four additional practices will continue to be evaluated and may be approved in the coming months. -
Critically ill kids most likely to suffer from drug errors
The most seriously ill children are more likely than other youngsters in the hospital to experience drug mistakes, according to new research released at the same time as new guidelines on how to avoid such errors with children. -
OR nurse group urges reporting of surgical errors
Recent news reports of patients who lived for months with surgical items mistakenly left in them has spurred the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to urge that such incidents be reported to the national system it has set up to record such errors. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Fear, anxiety, frustration, and anger on the HIPAA road
There is an extremely high level of confusion, misunderstanding, frustration, anxiety, fear, and anger in a broad range of people and organizations as the April 14 compliance date for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule nears. Thats the finding of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, a statutory public advisory body to the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the area of health data and statistics. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: HIPAA deadline looms: Is your facility ready?
If youre not moving, start. On April 14, covered entities under HIPAA are expected to be in compliance with the new Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Q and A
This is the first in a series of periodic columns that will address specific questions related to implementation of HIPAA. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Make these changes to avoid HIPAA violations
If you dont comply with HIPAA privacy regulations, you may face civil penalties of up to $25,000 for each requirement violated, and criminal penalties of up to $50,000 and one year in prison for obtaining or disclosing protected health information. -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: URAC handbook explains HIPAA security rules
The lack of a final HIPAA security regulation means that your organization doesnt have to provide security for your patient data, right? Wrong, according to a new handbook published by URAC. Your organization already has to protect patient data under HIPAA privacy rule, the book points out. -
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Legal Review & Commentary: Adverse drug reaction leads to death and an $830,000 verdict in Kentucky
News: A 59-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for elective angioplasty. Ten hours after surgery, he experienced a severe adverse reaction to anti-clotting medication and suffered intracranial bleeding. He had a seizure, went into a coma, and died one week later. The patients estate brought suit against the cardiologist and the hospital for negligence. While the doctor was exonerated, the hospital was found liable, and the jury awarded the plaintiff $830,000 in damages, which included $100,000 for the widows loss-of-consortium claim.