Safety Net

The use of simulation in health care has grown worldwide. This year and through 2028, industry business analysts expect double digit growth in a $2 billion market for simulation services, software, and anatomical models. We interview pioneers and leading edge practitioners of the art.

Find out how to respond when patients decline recommendations around virtual care. The AMC PSO patient safety alert, called Informed Patient Refusal in Virtual Care, includes a review of likely malpractice allegations and contributing factors. Safety Net interviews one of the co-authors, Dr. Adrienne Allen, Senior Director of Quality, Safety and Sustainability at North Shore Physicians Group Mass...

A new study shines light on nursing’s role in malpractice claims and preventing diagnostic error. In 62 percent of the cases that involved a communication problem among providers, the patient died.

Micro-aggressions. Sexual harassment. Discrimination. On this episode of Safety Net, a special roundtable of health care experts looks at the legal and ethical dynamics behind conflicts over discrimination and harassment among colleagues and staff. What’s happening in the Harvard medical system, as a national movement and local lawsuits press institutions to change?

Each year, thousands of misdiagnosed cancers, technical errors in surgery, and other harm events are added to a national database of medical malpractice claims, and a benchmarking report is released to the public. This year, instead of only describing the significance of the trends and numbers, the sponsoring organization from the Harvard system, Candello, is releasing a report that describes real...

Dr. Adam Schaffer, a hospitalist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital & Senior Clinical Analytics Specialist at CRICO is lead author of a study on the topic published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine in June 2021.

Understanding its own risks and patient care vulnerabilities is vital to a health organization, but gaining that understanding is hard. Hospital leaders in the Harvard system are enthusiastic about outside risk assessments from CRICO, because the recommendations that come out are tangible, with no punitive component.

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the legal system since the pandemic interrupted normal operations in Spring of 2020. In Massachusetts, trials were suspended, and all non-emergency court business stopped. Long-time medical malpractice defense attorney Richard Riley of Murphy & Riley, PC in Boston explains the uncertainty of the litigation landscape as courts try to reopen for trial in the Bay...

Lowering the age for asymptomatic colon cancer screening from 50 to 45 suggests some important changes for physician practices. Joining us to talk about this change and more is Dr. Joseph Feuerstein, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and an advisor for “Prevention and Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer: A Decision Support Tool,” previously developed through...

Making baby cooling safe and available to the infants who need it is moving beyond 2016 recommendations from the AMC PSO, to new advancements. A regional registry of babies considered for therapeutic hypothermia is yielding new insight into how treatment can be delivered more effectively, safely, and consistently to prevent lifetime disabilities.

One of the lesser-known safety risks for hospitals is the transfer of a patient from one facility to another. A new guidance document attempts to make inter-hospital transfers safer.

New federal law gives patients access to almost everything in their medical record, including clinical notes. It allows for a different kind of partnership between patients and providers where they are co-producing the outcome. This may be good for both patient safety and risk management.

A new guide called Patient Safety Guidance for the Virtual Visit: Managing Risk in a New Care Setting is available free online. It was produced by the Academic Medical Center Patient Safety Organization, and covers a range of issues from the first decision to engage in a virtual visit with a patient, to the follow-up needed to close important loops, and even quality improvement measures. Dr. Phili...

For vulnerable and under-served communities, patient safety and quality care were at added risk from the COVID-19 pandemic. At Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, an established team for care equity and diversity knew early on in the pandemic that they had a lot of work to do.

The goal of these new early resolution and communication programs isn't just transparency, but early and added involvement from the insurer and the health institution. And it almost doesn't matter if there was any negligence. It also doesn't seem to lead to more lawsuits and higher costs.

The defendant is the single most important witness at trial. In many cases, the outcome of a trial will come down to whether or not the jurors like and trust the defendant. For this reason, defense attorneys and malpractice insurers are offering defendant clinicians more support services to prepare for testimony and cope with stress.

Excellent palliative care is inherently challenging. Over-capacity hospitals and a shortage of palliative specialists that pre-dated the COVID crisis have led to some improvisation and innovation. An expert practitioner from the Metro DC area shares his personal experience and some insights that might help improve communication between any specialist and their patients.

Misuse of language can have serious clinical consequences. It can also leave patients and families with a bad impression or misunderstandings. We invited two physicians who authored a JAMA Perspective on the topic to explain what worries them and what doesn't, when it comes to the misuse of words in medicine.

Many health care practices are under financial duress from the COVID-19 pandemic, and this is affecting access to care. Televisits can't do it all. A Massachusetts consortium of public and private entities surveyed nearly 400 practices of various sizes and specialties in late spring and early summer 2020. How all hands on deck isn't necessarily a great patient safety strategy during the pandemic.

New research shows a link between the presence of three common factors in malpractice cases and the likelihood they will end up in a payment to the plaintiff. Look out for documentation deficiencies, lack of a protocol or failure to follow one, and patient assessment issues.

Becoming a defendant in a malpractice lawsuit is often a long-term proposition under ordinary times. During this COVID-19 pandemic, the courts are struggling, and prioritizing: criminal trials first, then civil trials in Massachusetts, where a slow return to trials in September.

Telehealth, or virtual health care is more popular than ever. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen to that. Two national telemedicine leaders share their expertise on the patient safety and risk management issues related to virtual visits, and how has the pandemic affected all of this.

COVID-19 has dragged thousands of doctors and nurses into front-line wards across the country to pitch in. What is the impact on these providers now and in the future? And does all of this have implications for patient safety?

As the COVID-19 crisis continues for hospitals and providers, the State of Massachusetts passed a new law with some protections from liability. Beth Cushing, CRICO’s SVP of Claims, explains how the Harvard malpractice insurer joined leaders across the state to craft a fair legal response to the public health crisis.

A special edition of CRICO's regular podcast describes how Harvard's malpractice liability insurance program, CRICO, is giving providers extra coverage without extra premiums during the crisis. Telemedicine, retired volunteers, etc., find a streamlined coverage process online, starting on CRICO's dedicated COVID-19 page.