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Q
A
Why are we seeing more
outpatient malpractice claims?
Outpatient service volumes continue to climb unabated — and when
you have more service, there are inevitably
more claims. In addition, federal and state
agencies and non-governmental organiza-
SAFE AND HAPPY Getting the whole team involved in risk
management is a good start to avoiding med mal claims.
tions have focused considerable patient safety efforts on the inpatient hospital
setting. Likewise, most major safety studies have been done in this setting. Why?
The inpatient hospital is the traditional site of service. Stricter oversight of outcomes is coming for non-hospital outpatient surgical facilities, but it's not here
yet. That could decrease the number of med mal claims in the outpatient setting.
Q
A
What can outpatient facilities do to follow
inpatient's lead and decrease claims faster?
Decreasing your exposure to errors is the best way to prevent potential lawsuits. The cost and time involved, not to mention the publicity
of 1 malpractice case, will more than make up for any resources committed
to the cause.
A well-established inpatient risk roadmap is in place; all you have to do is
follow it, albeit on a smaller scale. The responsibility of risk management is
everyone's concern; however, 1 individual should assume and be responsible
for the risk management role.
The risk manager should be educated in order to educate others and protect
the patient. She should consult closely with anesthesia to determine what
O C T O B E R 2012 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
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