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A Maryland hospital and one of its subcontractors are being sued for malpractice by the family of a man who say a technician mistakenly released a clamp that allowed the patient to bleed to death before anyone noticed the error.
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A 59-year-old woman was admitted to the observation area of a local hospital. The woman was thought to have had an allergic reaction to cholesterol medication she was taking, and the staff recommended she remain under observation for 23 hours. The next morning, the woman experienced chest pains and the nurse administered meperidine and nitroglycerine. The nurse did not inform the attending physician of the administration. The woman was discharged and died the same day.
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To minimize damage from RAC audits, risk managers should make sure their facilities have highly competent case managers available seven days per week, advises Bill Hammock, RN, BSN, CMC, ACM, vice president and senior consultant in the Global Clinical Health Care Consulting Practice of Marsh in Nashville, TN.
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The philosophy behind the RAC program at Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH), based in Escondido, CA, is that it is better to find problems yourself before an auditor finds them for you.
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Good intentions can backfire when it comes to preparing for RAC audits, cautions Rebekah Plowman, JD, an attorney specializing in health care litigation with the law firm of Epstein Becker in Atlanta.
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Tube-feeding misconnections fall into the category of medical errors that are so obviously wrong that clinicians think they could never make such a mistake. But feeding tube errors do happen, and they sometimes bring grave consequences.
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What happens when a hospital patient's physician goes off duty and another physician assumes responsibility for the patient? Or when care is transferred to the next nursing shift? How about when a patient is transferred from intensive care to another unit?
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A woman underwent an excisional biopsy on her left breast. The physician who performed the surgery diagnosed cancer and began chemotherapy. Later, other physicians evaluated the woman and recommended a mastectomy and removal of lymph nodes in the woman's breast. After the mastectomy, no evidence of cancer was found.
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Are you ready for a "RAC attack?" It's coming for you eventually, and you need to prepare now to minimize the damage.
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South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, NY, is reporting success with an aggressive approach to falls prevention.
