Healthcare Risk Management – May 1, 2018
May 1, 2018
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EMTALA Violations Persist as Hospitals Cope With Overload
Hospitals continue violating EMTALA despite years of compliance efforts and the threat of severe penalties. In most cases, the hospital does not intend to dump patients.
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Confusion, Competing Priorities Behind EMTALA Violations
Most hospitals violating EMTALA intend to comply with the law but fall short because of confusion about requirements and competing priorities between doctors and hospitals.
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Four Steps for Improving EMTALA Compliance
Compliance with EMTALA will continue to pose challenges until systemic problems like the treatment of behavioral health patients can be addressed, but in the meantime there are steps that can help a hospital avoid being penalized for violations.
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Patients Sometimes Game EMTALA System
EMTALA compliance is greatly complicated in communities with significant homeless populations.
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Study: Diagnostic Accuracy Still Largest Claims Risk
Diagnosis failures still pose the biggest risk for malpractice claims. A recent review found that they account for 33% of medical professional liability claims.
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Report: Nurse Practitioners Pose Malpractice Risk Similar to Physicians
Nurse practitioners face malpractice risks similar to those of physicians. Hospitals should provide similar types and levels of education in risk management.
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Reduce Paper Records to Decrease Data Breaches
Healthcare organizations seeking to reduce the risk of data breaches should reduce how much protected health information they put on paper, while also stepping up “holistic” risk management efforts, according to a recent report.
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Doctors Maintaining Certification Less Likely to Face Discipline
Physicians who maintain board certification within 10 years of their initial certification are more than two times less likely to face state medical board disciplinary actions than those who do not, according to recent research.
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Inability to Break Up Blood Clot Results in $6.6 Million Jury Verdict
A patient sued a hospital and several physicians, arguing that they were negligent in failing to timely diagnose her blood clot.
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State Supreme Court Reverses $22 Million Malpractice Case
Untreated hypoxia led to a patient's brain damage and quadriplegia for the rest of her life.