Legal Aspects of Healthcare

Paper Summary:

This paper is a case study of risk management practices in a hospital. The paper discusses the many problems that a hospital might encounter, from administration to tired personnel and also discusses the investigative practices in a risk management program that can be adopted. The author speaks of her personal experiences in the hospital she works in, noting a particular incident when a therapist behaved inappropriately, swearing at his patients for no good reason. The author uses this example to illustrate how the hospital's risk management team managed to avoid possible lawsuits when they found out that the therapist was suffering from Tourette's syndrome through their investigative work.

From the Paper:

"Our hospital places a tremendous emphasis on privacy and personal liberty, while holding the entities within to be legally accountable for their actions. We pride ourselves on prompt attention to any reports of mistakes or errors in judgment on the part of our hospital personnel in any area, including medical or personal relations. Our Risk Control Managers are called upon to investigate and report on any such incidences, whether it is a patient falling out of bed or the death of a patient on the operating table. It is our job to be vigilant and to keep risk for any kind of negative experience low. This ensures the viability of the hospital in the minds of the public, as well as ensuring low maintenance costs for insurance and liability suits."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Abbott, R.L., Weber, P. and Kelley, B. (2005). Medical professional liability insurance and its relation to medical error and healthcare risk management for the practicing physician. American Journal of Ophthalmology. Vol. 140(6).
• Committee to Study Medical Professional Liability and the Dellivery of Obstetrical Care, Institute of Medicine. (1989). Medical Professional Liabilityand the Delivery of Obstetrical Care: Vol I. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
• Grol, R. (2001). Improving the quality of medical care: Building bridges among professional pride, payer profit, and patient satisfaction. Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. 286(20). 28 Nov 2001.
• Harris, G. (2006). Senators to unveil new drug safety proposals. The New York Times. 21 Jun 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/21/health/policy/21fda.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1200373850-0PNMhVh8RDTFqV4OOSZCpQ.
• Morrison, Ian. "The Fallacy of Excellence." Hospital Connect. Retrieved January 14, 2008 from http://www.hospitalconnect.com/hospitalconnect_app/index.jsp?SSO_COOKIE_ID=0a2f011430da7f71f69b63a24ddbacceb370d051f97e

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