Healthcare Risk Management
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Patient catches fire during organ surgery
A recent example of a surgical fire reported by Mary A. Herman, MD, PhD, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, illustrates how such an incident can occur in routine circumstances. -
Splash and splatter risk often underestimated
The risk of infection from exposure to a patient's bodily fluids gained great attention over the past 20 years, spurred by the risk of exposure to HIV, and that heightened awareness has led to improvements in needlestick prevention. But another route of exposure to bodily fluids has not received adequate attention, say some experts. -
Patients' mishandled funds could lead to RAC audits
Health care providers are becoming more familiar with the many errors that can trigger a RAC audit, but what is much lesser known among the health care community is that a patient's mismanagement of Medicare set-aside (MSA) funds post-settlement also could trigger an audit. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Suit alleges reaction to medication led to Stevens Johnson syndrome, death in elderly patient
During a three- to four-month period, an 86-year-old man with a history of severe and varied health problems was transferred back and forth between a local hospital and nursing home for recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs). -
HIPAA Regulatory Alert: HHS increases penalties for HIPAA violations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published an interim final rule incorporating provisions of the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health (HITECH) Act related to HIPAA violations that significantly increase the penalties it can levee against employers and health care providers. -
Workplace violence a growing threat
The video is chilling to anyone, but especially to nurses who can imagine being in exactly the same vulnerable position. A man’s brutal attack on unit nurses at St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, MN, is putting the spotlight on violence in healthcare facilities and the potential harm facing the victims and the hospital.
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Hospital reduces alarms by 80% with changes
A pediatric hospital reduced unnecessary alarms by 80% by implementing changes at the bedside. Alarm fatigue has been cited as a significant threat to patient safety. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Hospital fails to discover woman's brain tumor: $11.2 million settlement
News: A mother went to two area emergency departments on three consecutive days, complaining of nausea, vomiting, headaches, and numbness in her extremities. Each time, she was prescribed medication to treat the nausea, diagnosed with a possible gastrointestinal infection, and sent home. Just days after her third ED visit, the woman passed out and fell down a stairway. She was taken to a third hospital, where a CT scan showed a brain tumor, and physicians determined that the woman had suffered a brain infarction. -
2008 Salary Survey Results: Risk management still offers great opportunities
Risk management continues to be an exciting career opportunity that offers new challenges all the time, says Georgene Saliba, RN, HRM, CPHRM, FASHRM, administrator for claims and risk management at Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health Network in Allentown, PA, and president of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) in Chicago. -
2008 Salary Survey Results: Incomes continue rise seen in past years
With all the concerns lately about the economy, health care risk managers at least can take some solace in knowing that their median income is holding steady with indications for upward movement.