Where malpractice is most likely

This study screened malpractice claims from two Massachusetts insurers and found that those from outpatient primary care settings were more likely to be settled or found in favor of the plaintiff compared with those from other practice settings. Similar to previous research, claims related to missed and delayed diagnoses were most frequent, and the most common disease involved was cancer, followed by cardiovascular disease. The accompanying editorial argues that primary care settings will become increasingly important for malpractice claims with the advent of patient-centered medical homes and accountable care organizations, which shift a larger proportion of medical care to the outpatient primary care setting. The authors note a high prevalence of failure-to-diagnose claims and recommend further emphasis on diagnostic safety.The most important finding, I believe, is that the failure-to-diagnose claims do not result from physician diagnostic errors.  They come from failures in routine but yet high-volume outpatient office processes.  Here's an typical scenario: A test is ordered by the PCP.  It either does not get scheduled; or it gets scheduled and the test result is not returned; or the test result is returned, but it is not seen and is therefore not acted upon by the PCP. The patient next shows up with advanced cancer.For those who are skeptical of using Lean or other work-flow improvement approaches, think again, as they can be extremely effective in...
Source: Running a hospital - Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs