Healthcare Risk Management 2011-01-01

Professional intimidation threatens risk managers, but law offers protection

Risk managers continue to report that they experience harassment and retaliation for doing their jobs, with health care executives making them the scapegoat for lapses in policy and quality by the health care institution.

Guidelines stress whistleblower protection

New 2010 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act") make clear that prosecutors and regulators expect to see an effective compliance program that protects whistleblowers, including risk managers, says Reid Bowman, JD, general counsel with ELT Inc., a San Francisco company that provides compliance and ethics training.

Avoid being seen as the enemy

Most incidents of intimidation of risk managers emanate from a lack of understanding of the role of the risk manager in the hospital or health system, poor communication, and an absence of clarity regarding chain of command, says Patrick Hurd, JD, senior counsel and leader of the Healthcare Industry Group with the law firm of LeClair Ryan in Norfolk, VA.

Hospital may face numerous lawsuits

A former radiology technician accused of improperly entering negative results on mammograms at Perry (GA) Hospital has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Legal observers say the hospital is facing a storm of lawsuits over the alleged fakery.

'Miracle on the Hudson' offers safety lessons

In 2009, Jose Gonzalez, MD, the medical director for the Texas Medicaid/State Children's Health Insurance Program, discovered the devastating results of a medical error in a very personal way. When his niece, Kaelyn Sosa, then 18 months old, was brought into a Miami hospital after receiving a bump on her head from a fall, she was sedated and given an MRI. During the test, her breathing tube became dislodged, resulting in a severe brain injury.

Doctors flee Illinois due to malpractice policy

Half of all graduating medical residents or fellows trained in Illinois leave the state to practice medicine elsewhere, in large part due to the medical liability environment in Illinois, according to a new study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The study warns Illinois will face a critical physician shortage especially in rural areas if new strategies aren't adopted to stem the exodus.

TJC warns of ED suicide risks

A new Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert warns that non-psychiatric patients are committing suicide in emergency departments and medical/surgical inpatient units. The alert urges greater attention to the risk of suicide for these patients and recommends education for caregivers about warning signs that may indicate when patients in general hospital units are contemplating harming themselves.

$17.7M settlement after officer left quadriplegic

The University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center has reached a $17.7 million settlement with a former Stone Park, IL, police officer who suffered a brain injury due to medical negligence, according to the officer's law firm

LR&C: Plaintiff Alleges Failure to Diagnose Cardiac Complication; Jury Verdict in Tennessee

A man who had been out in his garden working complained to his wife of pain in his left arm. However, the pain did not subside after the man soaked his arm in warm water and applied an ice pack, and his wife drove him to the emergency department (ED) at a local hospital.

LR&C: Plaintiff alleges negligence led to birth defects

A 24-year-old woman presented at a government hospital after receiving a positive pregnancy test. During an ultrasound, health care providers concluded that an early intrauterine pregnancy had occurred.

Healthcare Risk Management – January 1, 2011

January 1, 2011