Page 40 - 2022 Risk Basics - Surgical Practice
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SVMIC Risk Basics: Surgical Practice
The surgeon made no changes to the patient’s
medications, nor did he contact her to inquire about her
condition or suggest a follow-up blood culture to verify that
the single dose of IV Vancomycin which she received
while in the hospital had been effective in eliminating the
gram-positive staphylococcus found on the culture report.
The patient developed endocarditis and damage to the
aortic valve. She also suffered a stroke and required a
lengthy hospitalization to recover from the complications
of the infection.
A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed, citing the failure
to administer timely and appropriate antibiotic therapy for
the positive blood cultures. The plaintiff alleged that
because the final results of the blood culture and sensitivity
indicated that Levaquin was not an antibiotic that would
effectively treat the type of organism that caused the
infection in her bloodstream, she should have been
readmitted and treated with an antibiotic that would be
more appropriate.
Keep in mind, there may be pending post-discharge results
from pathology, radiology, lab (culture and sensitivity), or other
inpatient results that require the surgeon’s personal review.
Staff should never assume results received from the hospital
post-discharge have been reviewed by the physician.
Tracking patients referred to you for consultation is another
risk issue in surgical practices. If a patient suffers
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