Strategies to Protect Health Care Facilities from Liability Issues.
The state laws, federal laws and medical schools determine guidelines that govern medical practice. The foundation of a lawsuit includes the plaintiff’s demonstration of the practitioner’s duty to the patient, failure to fulfil this duty and harm that resulted thereof.
Good patient-caregiver correspondence decreases lawsuits by ensuring the patient is respected and treated with empathy. Despite the meaningful relationship, caregivers should ensure that they follow proper procedures and maintain professional boundaries (Raper et al., 2016). The caregiver should ensure that all communication is honest and consistent. Giving information clearly before a surgical or medical procedure, including the risks involved, protects health institutions from liability by allowing for informed consent (Larkin et al., 2020). Ensuring data security and privacy is paramount. Medical information is sensitive and possibly embarrassing. Caregivers should input the information correctly to guarantee accurate records, as good documentation supports quality care (Pramanik et al., 2019).
Common Liability Issues and Why They Exist.
Liability issues occur as a result of negligence or an act of omission. Caregiver incompetence results from; low pay, high levels of stress and poor working conditions. Tired and demotivated caregivers are more likely to make mistakes when prescribing and administering medication and less likely to diagnose a potentially life-threatening condition (Hwang et al., 2016). The most common surgical errors include performing surgery on the wrong part of the body, surgery done on the wrong patient or leaving equipment used during the procedure in the patient. The causes include lack of proper communication channels, poor leadership and faulty assessment (Larkin et al., 2020). In conclusion, it is clear that legal issues within health care are a system fault and are preventable if practical steps are taken to ensure more efficient systems.
References
Hwang, C. Y., Wu, C. H., Cheng, F. C., Yen, Y. L., & Wu, K. H. (2018). A 12-year analysis of closed medical malpractice claims of the Taiwan civil court: A retrospective study. Medicine, 97(13).
Larkin, C. J., Roumeliotis, A. G., Karras, C. L., Murthy, N. K., Karras, M. F., Tran, H. M., … & Potts, M. B. (2020). Overview of medical malpractice in neurosurgery. Neurosurgical Focus, 49(5), E2.
Pramanik, P. K. D., Pareek, G., & Nayyar, A. (2019). Security and privacy in remote healthcare: Issues, solutions, and standards. In Telemedicine technologies (pp. 201-225). Academic Press.
Raper, S. E., Joseph, J., Seymour, W. G., & Sullivan, P. G. (2016). Tipping the scales: educating surgeons about medical malpractice. Journal of Surgical Research, 206(1), 206-213.
