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Jan 03, 2024
Healthcare Practitioners and On-Call Duties: Top Questions on Liability Risks
Our experts respond to questions about medical staff bylaws and on-call service requirements.
New Mexico Legislative Update
The medical liability landscape in New Mexico has seen significant changes over the past few years. Legislation has been enacted that has fundamentally changed the New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act. These new laws significantly alter the way medical malpractice cases are tried, the amount of damages that can and will be awarded, and the funding and management of the state’s Patient Compensation Fund (PCF). In turn, these new laws directly impact the availability and affordability of medical liability insurance for New Mexico’s healthcare professionals.
Professional Education
Breast Cancer Claims: A Review for Advanced Practice Clinicians
Breast cancer medical negligence claims are reviewed over a 10-year period to identify the major case types in which the gynecologist is the responsible party. The factors that contributed to those claims as identified by plaintiff and defense physician experts are discussed through case examples with learner questions. Risk mitigation strategies are identified to guide gynecologists in further providing the safest patient care and thereby improving their risk profile.
May 11, 2023, Inside Medical Liability Online
Postpartum Malpractice Claims: Can We Understand Preventable Harms and Socioeconomic Factors?
Rates for maternal morbidity and mortality are higher in the U.S. than in any other developed country—and many of the harms suffered by patients are preventable. In a multifactorial study, David L. Feldman, MD, MBA, FACS, Chief Medical Officer, The Doctors Company and TDC Group; Jacqueline Ross, PhD, RN, CPAN, Coding Director, Department of Patient Safety and Risk Management, The Doctors Company, and Shelise Valentine, RNC, MSN, Director of Clinical Education, Healthcare Risk Advisors, part of TDC Group, investigated postpartum claims to develop clinical recommendations to decrease the risks of postpartum morbidity and mortality.
Professional Education
The Need for Close Monitoring in Hyponatremia: Osmotic Demyelination Syndrome
In reviewing closed malpractice claims, The Doctors Company identified mismanagement of sodium levels during correction of severe hyponatremia as a serious problem that can result in catastrophic permanent neurological injury due to osmotic demyelination syndrome (also known as central pontine myelinolysis). This article highlights the importance of close monitoring of sodium levels during correction of severe hyponatremia, with a slow and controlled pace of sodium correction. Contributing factors discussed include clinical judgment with regard to rate of rise of sodium levels, patient monitoring, choice of practice setting, and communication between providers, especially at points of transition in care.
Nov 27, 2023
Continuing Education: Essential Risk Management for Healthcare Professionals
Our complimentary on demand course focuses on the legal elements of a malpractice claim and offers tips to help you demonstrate quality of care and reduce risk.
From
The Doctor’s Advocate
Video Oct 12, 2023
The Institute of Medicine (IOM), now the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), defined quality in healthcare with six domains: safe, effective, efficient, timely, patient-centered, and equitable. Looking at that sixth domain, equitable, means being aware of characteristics and factors that could make patients less likely to receive quality care. These include gender, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and location. To meet the commitment to providing the same quality of care to everyone, medical professionals can make quality their north star. Presented by Mark D. Smith, MD, MBA, Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCSF; Founding President, California Health Care Foundation.
Jun 15, 2020
Overview of Obesity-Related Malpractice Claims
The Doctors Company continues to see an increase in lawsuits involving patients with obesity.
Professional Education
Module 4: Recognition, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Substance Use Disorder (Innovations and Smart Approaches in Safe Prescribing)
Learn several new concepts and innovation tips. Learn about the new CDC Guidelines about pain. This program will show how to treat pain, opioid withdrawal, and/or opioid addiction. It will show how to taper opioids and you will learn how to conduct “motivational interviewing.” You will be shown strategies for recognizing substance use disorder (SUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD). Refamiliarize yourself with screening for fentanyl. Provide valuable pharmacological and nonpharmacological resources to connect patients to treatment for addiction. Discuss individualized treatment plans that are tailored to specific patient needs when treating OUD. This module consists of four audio-filled videos. To successfully complete this course, you need to achieve a passing score of 80 percent in the post-test questions.
Professional Education
Delayed Diagnosis of Sepsis (Claims Corner CME)
In reviewing closed malpractice claims, The Doctors Company has identified delayed diagnosis and treatment of sepsis as a serious problem that can result in significant morbidity and mortality. This article highlights the importance of timely recognition of symptoms that point to a diagnosis of sepsis, and the need for quick initiation of treatment. Factors contributing to the delayed diagnosis and treatment of sepsis are discussed, including clinical judgment errors such as failure to note the importance of significant clinical symptoms, failure to seriously consider sepsis as high on the differential diagnosis, failure to use a sepsis recognition tool as an adjunct to the exam, failure to order appropriate tests to rule out sepsis before assuming another diagnosis, and failure to admit the patient to the hospital for treatment.