Within Normal Limits: Navigating Medical Risks

In this episode, we talk with ophthalmologist Dr. Jennifer Grin about a practical, high-yield approach to evaluating eye complaints, documenting findings, and knowing when to urgently refer. The conversation covers a breakdown of an “easy eye exam” any clinician can do from starting with visual acuity as the eye’s vital sign to realistic expectations for the fundus exam. Dr. Grin reviews warning s...

This episode features Brian Dwinnell, Associate Dean of Student Life at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who shares his insights on medical school admissions, student support, and curriculum changes. The discussion touches on the competitive application process, the school’s holistic review philosophy, and how the new systems-based curriculum known as “Trek” is designed to better pre...

In this episode, we welcome Catrina Bubier, MD, an OB/GYN physician and member of Copic’s Board of Directors. Dr. Bubier details her experience with a serious hand injury that temporarily sidelined her from surgical practice. She shares how the injury and subsequent surgeries impacted her ability to work, her relationships with practice partners, and her finances. Dr. Bubier discusses the importan...

This episode’s guest is Dr. Mark Earnest, Division Head of Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School. The conversation centers on the concepts of psychological size and psychological safety in medicine. Psychological size is described as a relational dynamic involving power and status within professional interactions. Psychological safety refers to creating an environ...

We welcome Dean McConnell, deputy general counsel at Copic, as this episode’s guest who shares his thoughts on handling subpoenas, especially those involving medical records. McConnell starts by describing key details about subpoenas, the requirements of serving subpoenas, and how medical providers can confirm the validity of a subpoena. He explains the importance of carefully reviewing the scope...

In this episode, we talk with Heidi Baskfield, the founder of Speak Our Minds, an organization dedicated to addressing the youth mental health crisis in the United States. Baskfield talks about her journey from political advocacy to health leadership and the committed effort required to transform youth mental health care. Their conversation explores the overwhelming mental health needs of children...

This episode features a conversation with Kate Castells, a risk management nurse at Copic, who talks about remote patient monitoring (RPM) wearables. They discuss the evolution and range of RPMs, from FDA-approved medical devices to consumer smart watches, with a focus on the clinical value of data collected and what can be used in medical decision-making. In addition, they look at the risks of us...

Colorado AHEC website: https://www.cuanschutz.edu/centers/coahec Feedback or episode ideas email the show at wnlpodcast@copic.com Disclaimer: Information provided in this podcast should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal, or financial decisions and you should consult an appropriate professional for specific advice that pertains to your situation. Health care providers should exercise...

This episode features Darlene Turner from Healing Hands Community Doula Project, which aims to support expectant mothers, particularly in the Black community, through their pregnancy journey. The grant from the Copic Medical Foundation is being used for a program that trains perinatal community health workers to provide extensive support, including birth and postpartum planning, lactation guidance...

Medication errors are traditionally defined as an avoidable event, but they don’t just happen during the prescribing phase. In fact, it’s important to remember that there are many steps—transcribing, dispensing, and administering—where an error can occur. To learn more about pediatric medication errors specifically, we invited COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, Kayla Boyd, to the podcast. In t...

This episode features Liz Warman and Mandy Johnson from the Kansas Health Care Collaborative and focuses on the organization’s transition-in-care program that aims to leverage Health Information Exchange (HIE) to reduce care fragmentation and improve health outcomes by developing processes, workflows, and policies in clinics. This initiative is supported by grant funding from the Copic Medical Fou...

In this episode, Matt Groves, Copic’s General Counsel, talks about the impact of recent federal executive orders and legislation on healthcare providers. He provides general information about new federal initiatives and their potential risks, emphasizing the rapid changes and uncertainty in the legal landscape. Matt explains the differences between executive orders and legislation, and the concept...

The episode features staff from AIRnyc—Lola Simpson, Chief Executive Officer; Kathleen Agaton, Chief Impact Officer; and Lydia Baez, Senior Outreach Coordinator and Community Health Worker. AIRnyc received a grant from the Copic Medical Foundation to support their efforts to reduce fragmentation in prenatal and postpartum clinical and social care for high-risk Black and Latinx pregnant persons. Th...

For this episode, we sit down with Copic’s General Counsel, Matt Groves, to talk about non-compete agreements in the medical field. The discussion starts with looking at the purpose of non-compete agreements such as protecting patient revenue, preventing competition, and safeguarding the investment in recruiting and developing physicians. Matt highlights key legal terminology (e.g., non-solicit, n...

This episode features Mary Tucker and Garrett Chism discussing an interprofessional education pilot program between Metropolitan State University of Denver and Denver Health. The program is supported by a grant from the Copic Medical Foundation and focuses on simulation training for nursing and EMT students to improve patient outcomes. The objectives include evaluating critical changes in patient...

We welcome Beth Chow, an occurrence nurse with Copic, who provides some great perspective about the benefits and value of early reporting of incidents. Beth explains the interchangeable terms "occurrence" and "incident" and clarifies what constitutes an adverse event and the types of events you should report to your medical liability insurance carrier. She goes on to explain how Copic’s reporting...

Links/Resources U.S. Preventive Services Task Force- https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/ American Cancer Society- https://www.cancer.org/ American College of Gastroenterology -https://gi.org/ Feedback or episode ideas email the show at wnlpodcast@copic.com Disclaimer: Information provided in this podcast should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal, or financial decisio...

Amy Herum, a nurse and patient safety and risk manager with Copic, joins us to talk about the purpose and scope of EMTALA. Amy explains the situations that trigger EMTALA obligations and the definition and assessment of an “emergency medical condition.”The discussion then looks at the requirements and process of transferring a patient under EMTALA , the penalties and consequences of violating EMTA...

Our guest is Anna Barr, a patient safety and risk manager with Copic, who joins us to talk about terminating the provider-patient relationship. The discussion starts by looking at the main considerations before terminating a patient: trying to mend the relationship by using effective communication and conflict resolution skills, assessing the clinical situation, the risk of abandonment, the possib...

This episode features Renee Blattman, a nurse and risk manager with Copic, who has 20 years of experience in the perioperative environment. The discussion focuses on the challenges and risks in this environment—a high-paced, high-volume, and fast-turnover setting, where there is a lot of pressure to keep the patients moving and the OR schedule tight. Renee talks about the growth and trends in ambu...

In this episode, our guest is Heather Westermeyer, a Patient Safety and Risk Manager with COPIC, and the topic is documentation. Heather highlights the role documentation plays in continuity of care—from ensuring an accurate medical history to supporting communication among providers. She also talks about how documentation serves a key purpose in legal protection/defense in medical liability issue...

LaDonna Kelley, a nurse risk manager with COPIC, is the guest for this episode, which looks at patient safety and risk management for geriatric patients. LaDonna tells a personal story about the challenges with caring for this patient population and how certain situational factors impact their care experience. She mentions issues such as hearing limitations, technology, and mobility and being awar...

In this episode, we talk with Carrie Beth Roddy, a COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, who joins Dr. Zacharias for a conversation on Just Culture. Carrie starts with defining the concept of Just Culture, explaining how it is being integrated into traditional medical culture, and the importance of using it to create opportunities to prevent future medical errors. We dig into the difference betwe...

This episode features COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, Amanda Heinrichs, who discusses the importance of documentation—from sharing patient information with other medical team members to supporting care decisions. Amanda covers a wide breadth of documentation issues, such as limiting documentation to only facts about the case, moving past finger-pointing in the event of an undesirable outcom...

COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager Cindy Walsh is our guest to set the record straight on medical records retention—giving us insight into ethical obligations, key considerations when referring patients or closing a practice, and the importance of having a clear records maintenance/retention policy. Furthermore, Cindy outlines how regular record audits and attention to state mandates now can pr...