Browse Hospital Publication Articles by Topic

New Jersey Appellate Court Affirms Dismissal of Complaint After Failure to Offer an Affidavit of Merit in Both Specialties of Treating Physician

Recently, a New Jersey appellate court affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a medical malpractice plaintiff’s complaint for lacking an affidavit of merit, which often is a requirement in malpractice suits. The appeal of the trial court’s decision revolved around the sufficiency of an affidavit of merit in a situation where a defendant physician’s answer to the medical negligence complaint stated involvement in two specialties, but the plaintiff provided an affidavit of merit from a physician board-certified in only one of those specialties.

Is Text Messaging Ever HIPAA-Compliant?

Text messaging is so convenient and common that it is tempting to use it for communicating with patients. But HIPAA applies, and the use of text messaging is allowed only when meeting some strict requirements.

Patient Termination Requires Right Steps, Good Documentation

Terminating a relationship with a patient or banning someone from a hospital is never done lightly, and, fortunately, it does not happen often. But when it is necessary, healthcare organizations must tread carefully to ensure that the patient is afforded other opportunities and that the potential liabilities are minimized.

Patient Advocacy System Shown to Lower Malpractice Costs

A patient advocacy reporting program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center was associated with a significant decrease in malpractice claim costs for high-risk clinicians in an orthopedic practice network, suggesting a strategy that other hospitals can employ.

HITECH Audits Return: OCR Promises Enforcement Changes for HIPAA

The Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) has reopened the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) audit program and will begin audits of HIPAA-regulated entities later in 2024. The audits will focus on the Security Rule, particularly the requirements for security risk analyses and risk management.

Ethical Concerns for Study Participants with Opioid Use Disorder

Individuals with opioid use disorder are a vulnerable population who face some unique risks when participating in research.

Some Hospitals Still Restrict Family Presence

Many hospitals still have not lifted restrictions on family presence during resuscitation/invasive procedures that were implemented during the pandemic, raising ethical concerns. A year out from the end of the global pandemic, it is time for family presence to be reestablished to reflect a culture of patient and family-centered care, according to an updated practice alert from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Ethical Concerns if AI Tools Assist Surrogate Decision-Makers

Surrogate decision-makers are faced with a formidable task: To make decisions based on the ethical principle of substituted judgment. “The idea is supposed to be, when these surrogates are making decisions, they are not supposed to choose what they want,” says David Wendler, MA, PhD, head of the section of research ethics in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. The surrogates instead must ask: What decision would the patient make?

Financial Conflicts Cloud Joint Replacement Technology Study Findings

As an associate editor for an orthopaedic journal, James A. Browne, MD, noticed that an increasing number of economic analyses were being published dealing with new technologies in joint replacement. “These studies, when sponsored by industry or conflicted with financial interests, are very likely to support the sponsor’s new technology — and may be little more than a sophisticated marketing effort,” concludes Browne.

Barriers to Ethical Informed Consent with Hereditary Cancer Genetic Testing

Demand for hereditary cancer genetic testing is increasing rapidly as the result of advancements in technology and growing awareness of the utility of testing in cancer prevention and treatment. Clinicians have an ethical responsibility to ensure patients can make a fully informed decision about undergoing genetic testing.