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Failure to diagnose cauda equina syndrome results in $2.5 million verdict from jury
News: A 19-year-old woman sought treatment at a local hospital ED for severe lower back pain and pelvic numbness. A nurse practitioner quickly discharged her and attributed the symptoms to common back pain. The ED physician failed to consult with the patient, but subsequently approved the nurse’s actions. Two days later, the patient was diagnosed with cauda equine syndrome but had suffered serious and permanent injuries.
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Impaired physicians have ethical obligation to self-report, experts say
Do physicians have diminished capacity as a result of substance abuse, burnout, behavioral or psychological issues, or physical illness? Regardless of the reason for impairment, physicians have an ethical obligation to protect their patients from harm.
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Parents eager for newborn genomic testing; ethical questions currently unanswered
Parents have widespread interest in genome sequencing for newborns, regardless of their demographic background, according to a recent study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. Researchers queried 514 parents within 48 hours of a child’s birth.1
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Voice ethical concerns — not just during consults, but organizationwide
Clinical ethicists can voice concerns not just during consults involving individual patients, but also more generally to address organizationwide issues.
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Disruptive behavior isn’t always addressed, either in policy or practice
Disruptive behavior remains a common occurrence in health care; organizations may lack policies to identify, prevent, and address such behavior.
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How bioethicists can encourage disclosure of medical errors
Despite patients’ growing expectations that medical errors and unexpected outcomes will be disclosed openly, the practice is infrequent.
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Study: Residents uncomfortable with end-of-life conversations
Internal medicine residents remained uncomfortable with end-of-life care discussions even after receiving additional training, according to a recent study.
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HHS targets opioid-drug related overdose, death
Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced an initiative aimed at reducing prescription opioid- and heroin-related overdose, death, and dependence.
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System pays $10M to settle FCA allegations
Robinson Health System has agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA), the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Stark Statute by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, the Justice Department announced recently.
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EHR failures create havoc for hospitals
The wide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and other electronic systems inevitably means that healthcare facilities will have to cope with outages. Several facilities recently have experienced how much the failure of one of those systems can cripple a hospital.