After-Hours Contact Form and Recommendations

After-hours call recommendations and form

Making medical decisions on the basis of the limited information obtained over the telephone is a risky—albeit necessary—aspect of ophthalmic practice. Indeed, OMIC claims experience confirms that inadequate telephone screening, improper decision-making, and lack of documentation all play a significant role in ophthalmic malpractice claims.  Negligent telephone screening and treatment of postoperative patients is especially likely to result in malpractice claims.

Use our After Hours Screening Recommendations & Form to document these conversations and to inform physicians of care you have provided to their patients.

Medical Record Retention Guidelines

While ideally medical records should be kept forever, this is not always practical.  To ensure that present and future patient needs are adequately met, and that allegations of malpractice can be successfully defended, follow the guidelines in our document. Different rules apply, depending upon the age of the patient, and the reason the record are being requested.

Press “download” to review and print Medical Record Retention.   

OMIC policyholders who have additional questions or concerns about record retention are invited to call OMIC’s confidential Risk Management Hotline at (800) 562-6642, option 4, or email us at riskmanagement@omic.com.

Office-Based Surgery for Adults

Some ophthalmic surgical procedures can be safely performed in an office surgical suite. Others with higher risk profiles raise a number of concerns. If a patient experiences a serious complication or poor outcome and decides to sue the ophthalmologist, all aspects of the care will be questioned, including the decision to perform the procedure in the office. Office Based Surgery for Adults provides an overview of the issues associated with office based surgery for adults.

Click on “recommendations” in the toolbar above to download the analysis.

eRisk Guidelines (telemedicine)

The eRisk Guidelines have been developed by the eRisk Working Group for Healthcare, a consortium of professional liability carriers, medical societies and state licensure board representatives. OMIC is part of this group, and helped develop are revise these guidelines for email and other internet-based physician services.

For more information about telemedicine and “telehealth” we recommend you visit the website of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA).

Advertising Medical Services

Physician Advertising is subject to rules and guidelines produced by the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration as well as state law. Professional societies, such as the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons have also published information designed to promote professionalism and ethics. Advertising Medical Services  explains guidelines and the liability risks.