Navigating Professional Liability and Medical Malpractice- Responsibilities and Risks in Healthcare

Navigating Professional Liability and Medical Malpractice- Responsibilities and Risks in Healthcare

Part 1

Liability and Malpractice

Liability refers to being legally responsible for the damage imposed on a patient by a health practitioner. The various types of liability in medical practice are criminal, civil, disciplinary, and administrative liability (Davies & Miola, 2020). Civil liability arises when a hospital or healthcare provider causes injuries to a patient or death due to negligence. Negligence includes bed sores, patient falls, or any other acts that occur in long-term care. Disciplinary liability arises from disciplinary action for non-compliance with the medical profession’s laws and regulations, the rules of acceptable professional practice, medical deontology, and any acts connected to the medical profession that may cause harm to the prestige or honor of the medical profession. Administrative liability arises from notifying the medical committee about an act of malpractice committed in treatment and diagnosis. Liability often arises due to malpractice which refers to the professional misconduct arising from the process of providing pharmaceutical or medical service that results in a patient’s injury and causing civil liability of healthcare providers and of the provider of sanitary, medical, and pharmaceutical services and products.

Areas of general liability for which a physician/employer is responsible.

Physicians are responsible for overseeing the activities in a hospital, automobiles, and employee safety. The hospital has a responsibility to address and prevent malpractice by nurses, physicians, or other healthcare providers who are part of its staff. Automobile management focuses on providing timely ambulance services to prevent further patient injury. Employee safety, on the other hand, includes covering property damage and general liability insurance.

Part 2

Medical Malpractice Prevention

Preventing medical malpractice incorporates reducing risk and practicing the best medical practices. It starts with ensuring that the healthcare providers in a hospital have the required training to attend to patients and that the hospital meets the expected standards of care in medical practice. Medical practice can also be prevented by enhancing communication between patients and healthcare providers, particularly when dealing with poor outcomes and complex cases. Healthcare providers also need to consider strategies for handling protected health data and adhering to HIPPA regulations.

4 C’s in Medical Practice

Caring

Caring is vital in healthcare because effective patient care requires listening to patients and understanding their needs to create trust. When a patient knows that their healthcare provider cares they are more willing to share their concerns with them hence increasing the quality of healthcare. Caring also plays a vital role in reducing medical malpractice because the healthcare provider focuses on meeting the patient’s needs and treating them in the most humane way possible. For instance, a healthcare provider who cares for his or her patients will check on them regularly to prevent patient falls and bedsores.

Communication

Communication is important among healthcare providers to prevent delayed or missed diagnoses that usually arise from failure to share critical data. Physicians also need to maintain constant communication with nurses to prevent treatment errors, such as administering the wrong medicine or medicine dose to a patient or giving a patient medication that he or she is allergic to. Healthcare providers also need to maintain constant communication with the patients and their families to effectively monitor health progress and get consent for various medical procedures such as surgery.

Competence

Healthcare providers are required to stay updated on various clinical recommendations and the latest medical evidence in their area of practice. They are also required to know when a situation gets out of their control and the colleagues they can approach to get help. Competence also includes having the right level of knowledge and capabilities to treat a patient.

Charting

Charting is applied to facilitate effective medical care and offer the best proof of good medical practice in litigation. Healthcare providers are required to keep a record of their patient’s treatment plans, medication administered to them, and their health progress. Charting is vital in reducing medical errors because other healthcare providers can access a patient’s chart before treating them to get an overview of the patient’s treatment. It also allows patients to be part of monitoring their health progress because they can see their health records.

The role and purpose of risk management

Risk management in healthcare includes administrative and clinical processes, systems, and reports used to monitor, detect, mitigate, assess, and prevent risks. According to Fenn & Egan (2012), the main areas of risk management in healthcare are health and safety, clinical and organizational risk management. Healthcare providers can use risk management to ensure that the safety of their patients and the hospital’s market share, assets, reimbursement, accreditation, brand value, levels, and reputation are safeguarded. Risk managers in a healthcare facility can analyze risk assessment results and compare the probability of various negative events as well as their impacts on the healthcare organization to effectively rank possible risks based on their severity. They can also set strategies to mitigate the risks and handle them appropriately. The main purpose of risk management in healthcare is to facilitate patient safety initiatives and reduce readmissions. Effective risk management requires qualified healthcare administrators and preparation to create, implement and monitor a hospital’s plan. This benefits general patient satisfaction and other priorities within the healthcare facility.

References

Davies, M., & Miola, J. (2020). Medical practice and professional liability. Professional Liability: Law and Insurance, 659-718. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003123231-11

Fenn, P., & Egan, T. (2012). Risk management in the NHS: Governance, finance and clinical risk. Clinical Medicine, 12(1), 25-28. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmedicine.12-1-25

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The Medical Staff Coordinator has again called upon your expertise in the area of healthcare law. You have been asked to provide a written discussion on professional liability and medical malpractice. You are asked to provide the information outlined below and use research (at least two sources) to substantiate your discussion.

Navigating Professional Liability and Medical Malpractice- Responsibilities and Risks in Healthcare

Define liability and malpractice.
Summarize the three areas of general liability for which a physician/employer is responsible.
Discuss the role and purpose of risk management.
Use APA formatting and citation standards. Use at least two (2) scholarly references published within the last 5 years to substantiate your work.