Comanagement of Surgical Patients: Risk Management Strategies to Ensure Patient Safety and Mitigate Liability
August 8, 2022
Dear OMIC Insureds:
Managing expectations of patients and ensuring effective communication between care providers is especially important when ophthalmologists share care of ophthalmic surgery patients with community optometrists or optometrists within their practice.
OMIC offers risk management strategies to ensure patient safety, and avoid liability risks associated with surgical comanagement, whether it takes place within a practice or outside of it. These recommendations are based upon OMIC claims experience.
Click on this link:
OMIC Risk Management Recommendations for Comanagement of Surgical Patients
If you have questions, contact us for confidential risk management advice at riskmanagement@omic.com. Or call us at 1-800-562-6642, enter 4 for Risk Management.
Sincerely,
Hans K. Bruhn, MHS
OMIC Risk Manager
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Medical Decision Making: Clinical and Risk Management Considerations
| July 7, 2022
Dear OMIC Insureds: The Risk Management Hotline often receives questions from ophthalmologists about whether a certain procedure is appropriate or recommended for a patient. These types of questions have two factors: clinical and risk management. Clinical Our Risk Managers will remind physicians that OMIC does not provide clinical direction or determine the standard of care. For that aspect, we recommend that ophthalmologists consult the relevant AAO Preferred Practice Patterns, such as Cataract in the Adult Eye, Refractive Errors and Refractive Surgery, etc. Risk Management A deviation from accepted practice can be problematic from both a patient safety and professional liability standpoint. Physicians need to clearly document their clinical reasoning as to why a particular treatment is appropriate and safe for that specific patient, including documenting other treatment(s), both medical and surgical, that have been tried without success. If a patient wants treatment or surgery, but is not a good candidate, the physician needs to communicate that to the patient, explore alternatives, and document that conversation. See OMIC’s Cataract Surgery Recommendations for examples of how to apply this risk management process. In addition, Documentation of Ophthalmic Care provides our key recommendations on documenting the diagnostic process and more. If you have questions, contact us for confidential risk management advice at riskmanagement@omic.com or call us at 1-800-562-6642 and enter 4 for Risk Management. Sincerely, Jane Mock, CPHRM CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This correspondence is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. Dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail or the information herein by anyone other than the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us at riskmanagement@omic.com and destroy the original message and all copies. |
Managing Disruptive Patients
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June 10, 2022 Dear OMIC Insureds: Healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than workers in all other industries. Between 2011 and 2018, injury arising from violence against medical professionals increased by 67%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and in 2018 it reported that 73% of all nonfatal workplace assaults and injuries occurred in healthcare settings. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 38% of healthcare workers suffer physical violence at some point in their careers, and many more will be the targets of threats and verbal abuse. Studies conducted since the onset of the pandemic suggest that this number is increasing. In 2020 Dye et al. found that health professionals were roughly 50% more likely than other community members to have been harassed, bullied, or hurt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, violent attacks by patients against staff and physicians in the clinical office are rare, but over the years insureds have reported incidents of stalking and physical harm by their patients. A more frequent occurrence are patients who are verbally abusive and threaten litigation. Triggers for aggressive behavior can include a multitude of items, such as receipt of a serious, vision-threatening diagnosis, an unexpected outcome after surgery, a billing issue, the requirement to adhere to protocols, or a long time in the waiting room. These episodes are sometimes accompanied by a demand for a refund or the threat of posting a negative review on social media. Since the pandemic began, we’ve listened to many insureds describe patients who have become agitated regarding compliance with safety precautions, and assert that their civil rights are being violated. One way to address aggressive behavior by patients, and reduce the stress resulting from such instances, is to be prepared for them:
If you have questions, contact us for confidential risk management advice at riskmanagement@omic.com or call us at 1-800-562-6642 and enter 4 for Risk Management. Sincerely, Linda D. Harrison, PhD
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This correspondence is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. Dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail or the information herein by anyone other than the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us at riskmanagement@omic.com and destroy the original message and all copies.
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ROP Safety Net Revision
| May 9, 2022
Dear Colleague: The International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity, Third Edition1 (ICROP3) was released last year. We revised the clinical tables and recommendations in our ROP Safety Net accordingly. ICROP3 changes updated in the OMIC Safety Net: · The definition of aggressive ROP replaces aggressive-posterior ROP · A continuous spectrum of vascular abnormality exists from normal to plus disease · Regression and reactivation should be documented Updated/new consent forms: · Update to informed consent to inject · Update to informed consent for laser · NEW: Telemedicine services consent Minor changes to the following letters: · Discharge from hospital · Transfer to treat · Transfer for other care · Missed appointment · Outpatient screening We are working on Spanish translation of the updated consent forms and letters. You should update your consent forms and letters immediately (even though Spanish translation is not available). You may access the revised clinical tables and the entire ROP Safety Net at http://www.omic.com/rop-safety-net/. Remember that you may contact the Risk Management Hotline for confidential assistance at riskmanagement@omic.com or 800-562-6642, option 4. Sincerely, Robert S. Gold, MD ________________________________________ 1 Chang MF, Quinn GE, Fielder AR, Wu WC, Zhao P, Zin A, et al. International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity, Third Edition. Ophthalmology. 2021;128(10):E51-E68. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2021.05.031 (Accessed: 3/10/22) CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This correspondence is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. Dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail or the information herein by anyone other than the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please call me and destroy the original message and all copies.
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Updated OMIC consents for ROP and Retina
| April 7, 2022
Dear OMIC Insureds: With over 100 consent forms available on the OMIC website, we are pleased to announce two UPDATED ROP consent forms and a NEW retina consent form: · Retina: Vabysmo COMING SOON: an update to the ROP Safety Net based on the International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity, Third Edition (ICROP3). If you have questions, contact us for confidential risk management advice at riskmanagement@omic.com. Or call us at 1-800-562-6642, enter 4 for Risk Management. Sincerely, CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This correspondence is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. Dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail or the information herein by anyone other than the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please call me and destroy the original message and all copies.
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