Developing a Patient Experience Strategy: The Evidence Behind Its Impact on Reimbursement & Liability
January 12, 2017
Patient experience is an area of healthcare that has a significant impact not only on an organization’s reimbursement, but also on a hospital’s professional liability (HPL) and exposure to litigation. As a result of recent regulatory changes from the Affordable Care Act, it appears that hospitals have become even more judicious in their allocation of…Read More
The Ultimate Loss Prevention Strategy: 4 Key Areas for Allocating Your Risk Management Budget
January 5, 2017
As the healthcare industry constantly evolves and “return on investment” remains a focus, it is becoming more imperative that risk managers allocate their budgets in areas that have the greatest impact on mitigating claims and litigation. Fortunately, The Sullivan Group has the luxury of working with many large, sophisticated, self-insured hospital systems as well as…Read More
[Infographic] 5 Ways to Minimize Cyber Risk
December 19, 2016
Download infographic as .jpg. Content provided in partnership with John West, JD, MHA, CPHRM, DFASHRM.
The Ring of Death: Patient Safety in Radiology
November 21, 2016
It is a routine practice for hospital-based practitioners to order radiology studies during the evaluation of sick or injured patients. The information gained from these imaging studies provides crucial information needed to make a diagnosis and guide treatment. As many as 50% of ED patients get a plain X-ray during their visit. It is well…Read More
Every Story Paints a Picture: EMR Documentation of Appearance & Activity
November 14, 2016
A few years ago, I invited one of our malpractice defense attorneys to shadow me for a shift in the emergency department. At the end of the day, after he had seen every patient with me and watched me document every chart, I asked him to share any observations. He said, “It shocks me that…Read More
Veterans Healthcare: What Civilian Physicians Need to Know
November 7, 2016
There are approximately 21 million living U.S. military veterans, and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest health care system in the country. Despite its size, the VHA is overwhelmed by the need to provide healthcare to the huge number of eligible veterans. As a consequence of this high demand for care, Congress enacted…Read More
The Chief Complaint of Pain: A Pain for You and Your Patient!
October 31, 2016
A chief complaint of pain is one of the most common encountered by practitioners in any specialty. The pain may be acute or chronic. It may be located in the abdomen, chest, head or any other body part. It may be spontaneous in onset or may be due to an injury. It can range from…Read More
Trick or Treat? Halloween in the Emergency Department
October 24, 2016
It should be no mystery to anyone that EDs see more than their share of fireworks injuries on July 4th and hangovers on New Year’s Day. But what about on Halloween? Will there be a deluge of patients with candy overdoses? Since I couldn’t recall any specific cases from my own Halloween emergency department shifts, I…Read More
The Electronic Health Record: No Panacea for Risk
October 17, 2016
“By computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care.” — President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004 The move towards the electronic health record (EHR) has been under way for more than a decade now. Hospital administrators, healthcare insurers, IT vendors and government officials…Read More
Cognitive Bias: The Near-Miss Case of “Lazy Boy”
October 3, 2016
Many diagnostic errors involve some degree of cognitive bias or errors; here is an actual case that illustrates this point. Case Presentation L.B. is a 46-year-old man with onset of illness 12 days prior that started with cold symptoms, sore throat, rhinorrhea, cough, and fever up to 100.7°F (38.1°C). Since then, he has been getting…Read More
