The ABCs of Risk Management
September 26, 2016
One of our goals at The Sullivan Group is to bring you practical pearls to reduce risk, improve patient safety, and enhance quality in your everyday practice. To that end I thought I would share with you this “alphabet soup” of risk management and patient safety tips assembled from years of observation and experience. Abdomens…Read More
The Year in Review: Important Developments in Case Law
September 19, 2016
There have been some interesting, and some frightening, developments in case law relating to healthcare risk management since the last annual meeting of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM). While these cases may not have national importance (yet), they have concerning implications for healthcare. In Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc. v. Charles,¹…Read More
5 Tips for Physician Engagement in Practice Change
September 12, 2016
Physician engagement is sometimes cited by organizations as a challenge on its path to implementing a successful practice change initiative. Below are five tips for engaging physicians using continuing medical education (CME): Identify the goals of your organization/physician leaders and align education with those goals. Understand the physician population you are trying to engage and select formats…Read More
Communication Breakdowns in Healthcare: A Significant Cause of Risk and Malpractice Litigation
June 27, 2016
“It’s all about communication!” The world of medicine has changed by leaps and bounds over recent decades. Computers have become part of our daily lives, and technological advances have significantly improved our ability to diagnose and treat diseases that were once thought incurable. Despite this incredible progress, healthcare providers continue to commit far too many medical errors. And unfortunately, many of these mistakes are simply caused by “poor communication.”
Violence in Healthcare Part 2: Prevention and Intervention
June 20, 2016
Violence in Healthcare Part 1: Risk Factors & Warning Signs Once you have an understanding of the risk factors and warning signs that may lead to workplace violence in a healthcare setting, it’s imperative to implement a plan to prevent and intervene in these situations to provide a safe environment. Environmental Intervention A number of…Read More
Violence in Healthcare Part 1: Risk Factors & Warning Signs
June 6, 2016
Pinched, pushed, punched, or even stabbed, shot or killed. Nearly every healthcare worker has been a victim or knows a coworker who has been a victim of workplace violence. Workplace violence represents a serious health and safety concern for all employees, but healthcare workers in particular face significant risk. Health and social service industries account for…Read More
Principles of Informed Consent in Healthcare
May 31, 2016
Many practitioners view the process of informed consent in healthcare to be a nuisance and a hindrance. It is often simply one more hoop to jump through so that the patient can get the care he or she needs. This is not true. If the provider was negligent in providing the service and a bad…Read More
Malpractice Claims or Medical Errors: Which One is the Real Target?
April 4, 2016
Is there a reliable way to predict which physician will be sued for malpractice? Researchers, insurers and healthcare professionals have wrestled with this question for decades. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine and a follow-up response by the Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA) provide more data points, but admittedly do…Read More
Case of Diagnostic Error
March 28, 2016
A 78-year-old man, Mr. S, came to the emergency department with the chief complaint of abdominal pain. He was an active person, residing in the independent living section of a retirement complex. He described the pain as an ache in the mid and lower abdomen that had been present for several days. The pain did not radiate….Read More
Acute Appendicitis: Surgery vs. Conservative Antibiotic Approach
March 21, 2016
There is a new risk and safety issue in the world of appendicitis. In this issue of TSG Quarterly, we explore the issue of conservative, antibiotic-first management of acute appendicitis with appendectomy reserved for treatment failures. Is it the new standard? Have you proactively addressed this issue with your emergency medicine and surgical practitioners? It…Read More
