Healthcare Risk Management – June 1, 2005
June 1, 2005
View Issues
-
Special Alert: JCAHO Impostors - Impostors could be targeting hospitals to gain information for terrorist attacks
Healthcare Risk Management has learned that terrorists may be behind a recent spate of incidents in which people posed as JCAHO surveyors, doctors, or government officials to gain access to hospitals. Experts in hospital security and terrorism say the most likely explanation for these impostors’ attempts to gain access is they are collecting information for future attacks on health care facilities. -
Special Alert: JCAHO Impostors - Here is what to expect from a JCAHO surveyor
The vice president for accreditation field operations with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations urges risk managers to question anyone claiming to be a Joint Commission surveyor at your facility. -
Special Alert: JCAHO Impostors - Be strict about demanding identification from visitors
Never assume people are who they claim to be, says the president of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety in Glendale Heights, IL. -
Special Alert: JCAHO Impostors - Law enforcement urges vigilance in checking IDs
The Department of Homeland Security recently issued a special bulletin that warns of an increase in suspicious activity at hospitals. DHS warns that the impostors may be terrorists and that “U.S. hospitals offer easy public access and would be recognized by terrorist planners as easy, accessible targets. Known targeting of such facilities would instill great panic and fear in the general public.” -
Special Alert: JCAHO Impostors - JCAHO official suspects terrorists are at work
The impostors visiting hospitals must be taken very seriously, says the vice president for accreditation field operations with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. -
Special Alert: JCAHO Impostors - In NJ, impostors attempt hospital access and flee
Officials at two small hospitals in New Jersey say impostors tried to gain access to their facility in scenarios that match the accounts heard from other hospitals across the country. -
When a crisis strikes, turn to your bible of crucial info
Sooner or later, some type of crisis will hit you and your organization. It's an inevitable part of your job, so risk managers should plan for that day by preparing contingency plans and putting together a "bible" of crucial information ahead of time, suggest two risk managers who have weathered storms. -
In getting your message across, work with media
Risk managers often see the media as enemies trying to show you at your worst, but you're better off looking at reporters as potential allies. That may be hard when they're firing aggressive questions at you, but with the right approach you can use the media to get your message to the public, say the risk control director with CNA HealthPro in Chicago, and a risk control consultant with the company. -
Adverse outcomes: More patient- than error-related
though incorrect dosing occurs in about 5% of patients with heart attack who receive a certain blood clot-dissolving therapy, patient-related factors appear to be more responsible for adverse outcomes than the dosing errors, according to a recent study. -
Insurance costs may rise as soft market hits bottom
Prices in the commercial insurance industry, which declined steadily in 2004 in the first yearlong soft market since 1998, may be showing signs of a rebound, according to a new survey. -
Reader Question: It's best to not reserve capacity, refuse transfers
Can we ever "reserve capacity" for special purposes and refuse transfers even though we technically have beds open? We'd like to save an intensive care unit bed for any in-house emergencies, but that might mean refusing to accept a transfer due to "no capacity," and that seems like we're telling a white lie. -
Legal Review & Commentary - Neck fracture not detected: $31.1 million verdict in Texas
A professional truck driver was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. EMS personnel placed him on a backboard, supported his neck with a cervical collar, and transported him to the nearest trauma center. While being triaged and evaluated in the ED, the patient's protective neck collar was removed and he was assisted in walking to a wheelchair. On the way to the wheelchair, he collapsed and has been unable to walk since. The patient and his family brought suit against the trauma center and emergency physicians; they were collectively awarded $31.1 million, which included almost $8 million in punitive damages against the hospital.