Page 28 - Hospitalists - Risks When You're the Doctor in the House (Part Two)

SVMIC Hospitalists - Risks When You’re the Doctor in the House

3 Shorten notes

“When you write a progress note for the day, it should reflect

what your thoughts are at the moment. If your thoughts
change four hours later, that’s OK. But one thing that you

need to avoid … is this concept of using the daily note as
a running continual gross summary of everything that’s

happened during the hospital course,” said Dr. Smith. Don’t
bring information forward from an old note to a new one if

it’s no longer relevant, he advised.

This strategy offers multiple benefits. “It actually makes your

note a little bit more likely to be read and understood … not

only by the expert witness or lawyers, but by people who are
helping you take care of the patient at the time,” he said.

4 When in doubt, quantify

Don’t document something as simply “abnormal” when
it’s possible to be more specific. “‘Patient complains of
weakness.’ … Was it a little bit? Enough to where you thought

that there was a spinal cord compression–really, really, really

severe?” said Dr. Smith. “If you don’t quantify, your finding is
up for debate.”

5 Consultation doesn’t necessarily protect you

The effect of requesting a consult on a hospitalist’s
malpractice liability depends on how much the consultant’s
procedural skills and expertise on the subject differ from

what a hospitalist is expected to possess. For example,

asking an ophthalmologist to use a skill hospitalists don’t

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