-
Risk managers often look at the emergency department as a little like a container of potato salad left out in the sun. Its a Petri dish for all the terrible things that can happen in your hospital, says one expert. That attitude has some basis in fact, she says, but there are specific actions you can take to reduce the risk.
-
Hospital-based medication, surgical and diagnostic errors are of concern to most Americans, according to the results of a new Harris Interactive poll of 2,847 U.S. adults.
-
The number of medical errors per year may be twice as high as previously estimated, according to a new report.
-
Incidents of perinatal death or permanent disability have declined steadily in recent years, but the tragedy still occurs too often, reports the Joint Commission. JCAHOs most recent Sentinel Event Alert addresses this issue with recommendations for lowering the risk even further.
-
A Denver hospital is facing strong criticism and threats of a lawsuit after emergency department staff photographed an unconscious patients genitals and left the photo on the mans digital camera.
-
Responding to the lawsuits against charitable hospitals, the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania recently provided its member hospitals with a comprehensive set of guidelines addressing charity care, financial aid, and collection practices.
-
The recent lawsuits filed against charitable hospitals has brought attention to the issue of collections practices in health care and made them a major risk, says Scott Becker, JD, a partner in McGuireWoods LLPs Chicago office and one of the co-chairs of the firms health care practice.
-
A hospital in Greenville, SC, will pay nearly $9.5 million to resolve Medicare billing improprieties from 1997 through 1999 in its home health, hospice, and durable medical equipment programs, the Office of Inspector General announced recently.
-
When employees are injured in falls, should they be sent to the emergency department or the employee health clinic?
-
A California hospital recently saw a 250% improvement in preventing medical errors related to medications after introducing pharmacy automation. Hospital leaders say the use of bar coding and computerized physician order entry has greatly improved patient safety.
