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Stephen A. Frew, JD, vice president and risk consultant with Johnson Insurance Services, a Madison, WI-based company specializing in risk management for health care professionals, says shift changes or "handoffs" in care often are associated with malpractice claims, typically for these three reasons:
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After the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) demonstration project ended, participating hospitals began looking for ways to minimize their risk and resources when the permanent RACs are rolled out.
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Before the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) issued its first requests for data, Sharp HealthCare in San Diego assembled a committee of stakeholders to determine what the process would probably be like, how to track requests, how to ensure that the health system responded in a timely manner, and what the appeals process should be.
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When its population of uninsured patients increased as more people lost their jobs, Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, MI, developed a program to provide medication for people who can't otherwise afford it.
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When a Florida hospital transferred a seriously disabled, undocumented immigrant back to his native Guatemala for care and won a subsequent lawsuit filed by the man's American guardians, the case made national headlines.
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Returning an immigrant to his or her native country for post-acute care is a long and complicated process but one that produces great rewards, says Fred Nenner, MSW, director of social services at Lutheran Medical Center in New York City.
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When hospitalists use discharge communication software, patients and the outpatient doctors who carry out the care have better perceptions of the quality of the discharge process, according to new research published in the August issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
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At Carolinas Medical Center, the management team and a panel of case managers and social workers interview all potential employees and collaborate on who will fit best in the department.
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Hospitals sometimes fail to transition patients to the optimal level of care, which can create issues with quality of care and reimbursement.
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Would it surprise you that the number of patients leaving a hospital against medical advice (AMA) increased 39% between 1997 and 2007? The number totaled 368,000 in 2007, says a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
