Risk Management News and Education

Diagnostic delays can be costly and harmful to patients. Although delayed diagnosis can occur in any medical specialty, primary care is at a significant risk for delayed diagnosis because it is where many initial and ongoing patient-doctor encounters occur.¹ One example of delayed diagnosis in the primary care setting was seen in a recent Pennsylvania case. 

As online care capabilities and frequency increase, so do the expectations for a rapid response time, which can significantly impact staff workflows within hospitals and medical office practices.

CAP's Risk Management and Patient Safety team has developed a toolkit for medical practices to address workplace violence.

Consistent with the Biden Administration's timeline to end the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) informed states to expect the Public Health Emergency (PHE) and certain associated flexibilities to end on the same date.

As challenges associated with mental and behavioral health illnesses increase, physicians should review available options when they suspect a patient may be a danger to themselves or to others so they can provide timely and appropriate care, not violate citizen/patient rights, and reduce professional and legal liability exposure for themselves.

One of the things physician members and their staff admire most about CAP is how we consistently aim high to provide products and services that help ease the stress of running a successful medical practice. And our comprehensive risk management and patient safety programs are no exception.

Did you know that April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD)? NHDD was founded in 2008 and is promoted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to highlight the importance of making Advance Directives.

When reporting their findings, it is common to see consulting physicians recommend further testing. Absent such an explicit recommendation, a patient’s decision to bypass conservative measures can spell trouble for all.

An advance directive is a document, such as a living will or durable power of attorney, which provides instructions that guide an agent in making healthcare-related decisions on behalf of a patient. Its purpose is to empower patients to ensure their wishes and goals of care are followed.

The Court of Appeal has found a substantial basis for a physician’s second-degree murder convictions arising out of the doctor’s drug prescriptions to three patients. By articulating the “implied malice” required for the convictions, the appellate court explained how circumstantial evidence of the physician’s state of mind could be accepted by a jury to convict the physician of murder.