Healthcare Risk Management – November 1, 2016
November 1, 2016
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Opioid Epidemic Brings Patient Safety Risks
The opioid addiction epidemic is introducing a new patient safety risk to healthcare facilities: the possibility of desperate and clever opioid addicts diverting medications from patients, which could leave the provider liable for any consequences.
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Addicts Pose Legal Risks to Hospitals
The growing presence of opioid addicts in healthcare facilities can create a legal obligation to anticipate the patient safety risks they can introduce, says Erin L. Muellenberg, JD, partner with the law firm of Arent Fox in Los Angeles.
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Eliminating Alarms Can Help Reduce Falls
So much of the effort to reduce patient falls has focused on the use of alarms and physical aids that the suggestion of eliminating those tools can sound heretical. But some healthcare facilities are forgoing alarms and other methods on the theory that they can give both patients and staff a false sense of security.
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The Joint Commission Offers Tips on Fall Prevention
A project involving seven hospitals has yielded fresh information on the causes of patient falls and possible solutions, The Joint Commission said in a new report.
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Kaiser Accused of Shorting Meds to Save Money
An anesthesiologist is suing Kaiser Permanente for $9 million, claiming that he was fired for complaining when told to reduce patient medications so they could be discharged sooner.
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Physician Theft Charges Dropped in Videotape Case
The anesthesiologist at the center of a scandal involving a hospital that videotaped thousands of women in compromised positions is no longer facing theft charges.
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Tenet to Pay $513 Million for Fraud, Kickbacks
Tenet Healthcare Corporation and two of its Atlanta-area subsidiaries have agreed to pay more than $513 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims relating to what the government says was a scheme to defraud the United States and to pay kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals.
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The Joint Commission Updates Notification Policy
The Joint Commission recently updated its policy regarding notification of changes within accredited organizations, requiring advance notice before the move is made.
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GAO Calls for More HIPAA Oversight
A recent federal Government Accountability Office report calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to make significant improvements in its guidance and oversight of HIPAA regulations.
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VA OIG Reports on HIPAA Violation
An investigation by the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General into HIPAA violations by business associates is a reminder to covered entities about the risk from these partners.
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Internists Sued More Often for Injuries
Internists more likely to be sued for high-severity injuries than doctors in other specialties, according a study of 1,180 claims against internal medicine physicians insured by The Doctors Company, the nation’s largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, based in Napa, CA.
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Doctor’s Jury Verdict Affirmed in Planted Gun Case
A hospital’s chief of staff opposed its acquisition by a holding company, which he believed lacked the financial backing to operate the facility properly. He feared that client safety would be put in jeopardy should the holding company take over
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Botched Gallbladder Surgery Yields $900,000 Verdict
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld a $900,000 jury verdict in a medical malpractice suit for a man’s death caused by a negligently performed gallbladder surgery. The patient’s primary care physician determined the patient had gallbladder disease and referred him to a doctor for a surgical consultation.