ED Management – October 1, 2009
October 1, 2009
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ED managers must dig beneath the surface to uncover all potential sources of liability
(Editor's note: In this special issue, we highlight an all-important topic: avoiding litigation. We cover issues such as department-level risk assessments, preventive actions to reduce risk; key areas of risk; a three-step strategy for risk management; changes in your department's culture to reduce risk; the use of patient satisfaction as a best practice; best practices and tools for physician, nurses, and other practitioners; admission of mistakes; and the critical role of patient advocates. We know you'll find a host of important strategies to hone your risk management program.) -
'Ounce of prevention' can help avoid suits
Risk assessment might be a critical strategy to use in your effort to minimize lawsuits, but it shouldn't be the first, says Tom Syzek, MD, FACEP, director of risk management for Dayton, OH-based Premier Health Care Services. -
Get at root causes to reduce risk
How can an ED manager reduce the risk of lawsuits once problem areas have been identified? Experts agree you've got to get to the root cause of those problems. Sometimes, they say, it might take the use of formal quality improvement tools such as root-cause analysis. Other times, it can be a simple as listening to patient complaints. -
Patient satisfaction is a best practice
If ED physicians and nurses could choose only one strategy for avoiding lawsuits, it should be to keep patient satisfaction levels high, say several experts interviewed by ED Management. -
Admit mistakes, show your concern
ED experts agree that when patients feel they have been treated poorly, or that medical mistakes have been made, the most effective way of diffusing the situation and avoiding litigation is to listen carefully to the complaint, admit mistakes if they have been made, and then take concrete action to demonstrate your desire to prevent such mistakes in the future. -
Scribes, EMR please docs, save $600,000
Several EDs have introduced physician scribes to free up doctors to spend more time with their patients, but most of those departments use paper charting. At Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, CA, physician scribes work within the context of an electronic medical record (EMR). -
Simple technology for complex work
Given the complex tasks of the physician scribes at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, CA, you'd think that the technology they use to interface with the department's electronic medical record (EMR) from Cerner Systems would be anything but user-friendly. -
With HIN1 vaccine shortage expected, highest-risk groups go to front of line
With a vaccine shortage projected for novel H1N1 influenza A, only the highest priority groups are likely to be offered the shot when initial lots are cleared for distribution this fall.