Browse Healthcare Risk Management Articles by Topic

OCR Provides Checklist, Advice on Cyberattacks

The HHS Office for Civil Rights is offering guidance on when a cyberattack constitutes a HIPAA breach and must be reported.

Medical Staff Management Can Be Minefield

Dealing with problematic physicians requires wading into a tangle of strict legal requirements on how a doctor can be investigated, and there are ample opportunities for missteps.

Lab Result Phone Alerts Mean Faster Discharge

Critical lab results can be delivered sooner and patients can be discharged more quickly by delivering lab results immediately to physicians’ smartphones, according to recent research.

Failed Lab Result Deliveries Result in Payouts

Data from The Doctors Company illustrate malpractice cases from 2011 to 2016 in which a failure or delaying in reporting findings of lab results was a contributing factor.

Ensure Lab Results Don’t Go Overlooked

Errors related to poor handling of lab results are a well-known patient safety risk, but risk managers should not assume their physicians and staff follow the proper policies and procedures to avoid liability.

Stanford Approach Helps Avoid Huge Verdict

This case study shows the use of the Decision Analysis Reserve and Trial Strategy tool, a structured reserve-setting process created by The Risk Authority Stanford.

Use Algorithm to Determine Better Med/Mal Reserves

Setting case reserves for medical malpractice cases is a challenge that requires a mixture of data, experience, wisdom, and a good bit of guesswork. The accuracy of that calculation often is attributed to the risk manager, and that can be detrimental when reality doesn’t match the prediction.

Hospital and Physician Prevail on Medical Negligence/Wrongful Death Appeal

A California court of appeals recently upheld a motion for summary judgment in a case involving the death of a child during birth.

Failure to Monitor Medication During Birth Leads to $14.5 Million Verdict

A family brought suit against a hospital and physician, alleging that lack of monitoring of Pitocin during labor led to a baby's brain damage.

$18 Million to Settle Kickback Claims of Loans for Referrals

Indiana University Health, and HealthNet, an IU Health affiliate that serves low-income patients, have agreed to pay $18 million to resolve claims they engaged in a kickback scheme that involved IU Health paying for the referral of OB/GYN patients to IU Health’s Methodist Hospital.