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O R E X C E L L E N C E. C O M S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT 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 | J U N E 2 0 1 4
ing of patients during the intra- and post-operative periods. Often these errors
are related to human factors, such as distractions, alarm fatigue and even user
error. Failure to provide clear instructions and advice to patients and their fami-
lies are other common allegations, especially in the post-operative timeframe.
This often goes hand-in-hand with failure to recognize a complication. There
can be a significant delay in care if patients and families do not clearly under-
stand what complications they should watch for and what steps to take when
they occur.
•
Standing your ground. Not every adverse outcome is the result of a med-
ical error. Lawsuits and claims may arise when patients experience a complica-
tion or unexpected outcome in the absence of any medical negligence. In these
situations, you must be in a position to vigorously defend any allegations of neg-
ligence. Closed claim and loss analysis can pinpoint causal factors that have
contributed to adverse outcomes and identify practical risk-reduction strategies.
The cost of medical errors is always too
high. But we can look at the experiences of
others, identify what went wrong that
could have been prevented, and focus
our resources on learning from those
failures.
OSM
K I C K E R
The experiences of others can identify what went
wrong and what we could have prevented.
"
"
Excellent conference!
Great networking ses-
sions and the lectures/
speakers were also
great. I loved the "inter-
active" response system — it truly got
the participants involved.
LORRAINE JANE BUTLER, RN, BSN, MSA, CNOR
Director, Perioperative Services
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
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