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MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
tion is elsewhere. People have to understand what their responsibilities are. If a facility is short-staffed or staffers are untrained or inattentive, that's inviting trouble.
6. Staff aren't properly trained to observe patients and interpret monitors
You can't do training just once a year. Three months later people forget what they learned. And if you don't know how to interpret what's on a monitor, it looks like hieroglyphics. Also, there are different levels of training, and if you get a new machine, you need to make sure people know how to use it and interpret the data. Everything needs to be reinforced on a regular basis.
7. Responses to alarms aren't ingrained and second nature
A lot of people freeze when there's an emergency, even when they've been trained and certified. They've never seen it for real and if they haven't practiced what they learned, they forget. Everybody needs to know what to do, when to do it, where the emergency equipment is, whom to call and how to initiate rescues. The best way to prepare is through simulation based on well-known and well-studied events. Sometimes people have shifting responsibilities, depending on the procedure or situation. How they respond may depend on what role they're currently playing. Everything needs to be rehearsed, whether at monthly staff meetings or under other circumstances.
Being proactive is much better than being reactive.
8. Managers don't talk to risk management liaisons or malpractice lawyers
Facilities often don't have risk managers, because facility owners can't justify the cost. That's a mistake. But if a facility is owned by another business, especially a corporation, there's a good chance the parent
