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A pre-eclamptic pregnant woman developed HELLP syndrome. Treatment for the syndrome was unsuccessful, and an emergency cesarean was conducted when the baby was at 27 weeks gestation. At birth, the child was diagnosed as intrauterine growth-retarded and was placed in the neonatal ICU. The child was later diagnosed with anemia and, in light of multiple blood draws, required a blood transfusion
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One of the most difficult challenges in a health care setting is creating or changing culture, and this certainly applies to HIPAA compliance. Experts agree that engendering a culture of compliance requires a delicate combination of several strategies:
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Risk managers must mitigate the natural human temptation to snoop and gossip, because the potential legal ramifications can be huge, says Robert Wolin, JD, a partner with the law firm Baker Hostetler in Houston.
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General surgeons have become scarcer in hospitals across the country, many of them beaten down by diminishing payments and grueling work hours, and some lured away by specialized surgery niches that offer more money and a better lifestyle. That means hospitals are increasingly dependent on surgeons-for-hire.
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Extending temporary privileges to a traveling surgeon can be risky business, says Leilani Kicklighter, RN, ARM, MBA, CPHRM, LHRM, a patient safety and risk management consultant with The Kicklighter Group in Tamarac, FL, and a past president of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) in Chicago.
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Photographs of ED patients' clinical findings are being taken more frequently, due to the ubiquity of digital cameras, increasing use of electronic medical records, and their recognized value in medical education.
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Once administrators at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL, discovered that a nurse had exposed patients to serious infections by reusing disposable tubing and IV bags, the hospital acted quickly to notify those affected and arrange testing.
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Needlestick injuries were a hot topic in years past, when the health care industry took notice of the risk posed by exposure to hepatitis and HIV in the workplace, but now it is easy to assume that you've taken all the right precautions and lowered the risk as much as possible. But have you really?
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports that data from 60 U.S. hospitals show health care workers suffer about 384,325 sharps and percutaneous injuries annually. These findings were presented recently at the International Conference on Nosocomial and Healthcare-Associated Infections in Atlanta.
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A woman presented at her gynecologist's office with complaints of post-menopausal bleeding. The gynecologist ordered a pelvic ultrasound, which displayed abnormal findings.
