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Diagnostic Errors Often Prompt Patients to Sue

The main reason patients sue is for an adverse event caused by delayed, missed, or failed diagnosis. Another reason patients sue is due to failure of communication, which led to an adverse event. Efforts to convey a sense of caring can reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit.

Avoid the Common Mistakes That Encourage Patients to Sue

Much of risk management is focused on avoiding liability and discouraging lawsuits, but what really makes a patient or family decide to sue? Much of the motivation comes from how they feel after interactions with physicians and staff — or the lack thereof. The biggest factor in a patient or family filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is the patient-physician relationship.

Care Improved by Providing Better Feedback to Hospitalists

Providing detailed feedback to hospitalists, including key quality metrics, can improve the quality of care they provide patients, according to the results of a program at a Wisconsin medical college.

Lung Health Program Revamped to Help Manage COVID-19 Pandemic

A Maryland hospital adapted an existing program encouraging lung health to respond to the sudden demands of COVID-19. The program helped reduce COVID-19 readmission rates by two-thirds.

Rapid Mortality Reviews Improve Quality and Patient Safety

Staff at a California hospital found rapid mortality reviews conducted soon after a patient death resulted in the treatment team identifying opportunities to improve the patient’s care in more than 40% of the cases.

NCQA, CMS Push for Digital Quality Measures System

Healthcare data and quality measures are fragmented across healthcare organizations and health plans, making it difficult to provide value-based care. A digital quality system could reduce the time and cost required for developing and implementing value-based care measures.

Appellate Court Upholds Judgment Against Patient Over Lack of Expert Testimony

The appellate court’s analysis in this case highlights how the application of res ipsa loquitur to medical malpractice cases still requires expert opinion. In fact, plaintiff was under the mistaken impression that because she relied on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur — a legal theory under which “the thing speaks for itself,” meaning that an inference of negligence is supported when an injury would not have occurred if not for negligence on behalf of the person who controlled the object causing the injury — she would not need to present a declaration from an expert in support of her position.

Texas Appellate Court Orders Lawsuit Against Physician for Postoperative Injuries to Proceed

Once again, the focus of the court’s decision rests in the sufficiency of the expert report. Here, the appellate court studied the plaintiff’s proffered expert report and found it addressed all the deficiencies highlighted by the court during the first appeal.

Emergency Medicine Trainees More Likely Sued Than Radiology Trainees

Medical malpractice claims naming physician trainees is infrequent, and the number of lawsuits is trending downward over time, according to the authors of a study.

CARES Act Funds Come with Many Obligations

The Department of Health and Human Services has been distributing $175 billion to “eligible healthcare providers” on the front lines of the coronavirus response in various phases, but that money comes with many obligations. Failure to comply with all the requirements can result in substantial liability.