Page 50 - Avoiding Surgical Mishaps Part 1

SVMIC Avoiding Surgical Mishaps: Dissecting the Risks

CASE STUDY

A physician, over the course of several office visits,
incorrectly carried over erroneous documentation

suggesting a positive study for an enlarging lung mass,
which was the basis for a lobectomy. The post-op

pathology report revealed no such cancer. During the
deposition, the physician admitted to the documentation

errors that were the result of the copy and paste function
of the EHR system. While the physician’s failure to review

the study prior to taking the patient
into surgery was difficult to defend, the

documentation errors called the entire
record, as well as the physician’s credibility,

into question.

As illustrated in the case examples, your documentation
becomes a crucial component in defending allegations of

negligence as it will likely take precedence over memory of
past events. The medical record is generally held to be more

objective and unbiased than your verbal testimony since it is
written when your only obligation is to record the facts.

Systems

The third area of risk, systems issues,

were a factor in 19 percent of the paid
surgical claims. Effective systems are

the bedrock of ensuring consistent
physician and staff performance. The

mindset of accepting a certain level of

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