September 26th, 2022
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Think in terms of access: Radioactive material on site could tempt terrorists
Risk managers may have thought about their facilities as potential targets of terrorists, but have you ever considered that you might be the source of nuclear material used in an attack? -
In-house theft may be a bigger risk than burglary
If terrorists want to acquire radioactive materials in your facility, they may not do it by breaking in to the oncology department in the middle of the night. They might just pay a technician to steal the material for them, says a retired FBI agent. -
Report missing radioactive material promptly
One of the best ways to thwart any attempt at stealing nuclear materials from your facility is to take seriously any report of missing material, says the president of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety in Glendale Heights, IL. -
JCAHO: Awareness during anesthesia is a problem
A terrifying failure during general anesthesia, once thought to be so rare that it did not warrant much attention, actually is common enough that risk managers should launch a specific, focused effort at reducing the problem, known as anesthesia awareness. -
JCAHO says risk managers play a role with awareness
Dennis S. OLeary, MD, president of JCAHO, tells Healthcare Risk Management that risk managers should take a lead role in ensuring that all staff members are aware of the problem of anesthesia awareness. -
Anesthesia awareness is concern of many players
Anesthesia awareness is not just a problem for the anesthesia department. That was a key message of JCAHO when it issued its recent Sentinel Event Alert on the issue. -
Organ donation shows risk from local coroners
Two hospitals in Colorado were accused of harvesting a mans organs before he was declared dead. The coroner actually ruled the death a homicide, saying the cause was removal of his internal organs by an organ recovery team. The only trouble with the story? The coroners conclusions were wrong, according to everyone involved except the coroner himself. -
Insurer refuses to pay for wrong-site/person surgery
The movement to prevent wrong-site or wrong-person surgery got another boost recently when a major health plan announced that on Jan. 1, 2005, it will stop paying for medical procedures involving those egregious errors. -
LA County: Patient dies as nurse turns off audio alarm
Los Angeles County officials reported recently that a patient at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center died after a nurse turned down an audio alarm on his vital signs monitor and then failed to notice that he was having a heart attack. -
Reader Question: Nurses must judge quality of consent to be a witness
If your nurses are so uncomfortable with the quality of the informed consent process that they dont want to sign as a witness, you should consider that a red flag that you have some serious work to do. -
Prepare your hospital for a very unusual flu season
In response to the national shortage of vaccine, Thomson American Health Consultants has developed an influenza sourcebook to ensure you and your hospital are prepared for what you may face this flu season. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Failure to diagnose vitamin deficiency leads to nerve damage: A $1.73 million verdict
This case primarily deals with the issues of delay in diagnosis and delay in informing the patient of test results and the appropriate diagnosis. Communication with patients is critical and, if not handled properly, can be disastrous.