Page 34 - Part 1 Anesthesiology Common Risk Issues

SVMIC Anesthesiology: Common Risk Issues

defense in cases where the patient suffered nerve damage

leading to permanent disabilities following a procedure.

PACU handoff documentation: Documentation of patient
status when handing off to PACU nurses was lacking in

several cases where the patient suffered a complication post-
procedure. This made it easy for the plaintiff to argue that

there was negligent post-anesthesia transfer of care. Also
lacking in the cases reviewed was documentation reflecting

the proper assessment of the patient status prior to PACU
discharge which, in turn, led to allegations of discharging the

patient too early and without anesthesiologist oversight.

Communication

After documentation issues, the second most common area

that significantly contributed to the indefensibility of anesthesia
claims was communication. As you have seen, communication

and documentation often go hand-in-hand as in the case of
informed consent, for example.

Effective communication is essential to establishing trust and
building good patient rapport which, in turn, plays a role in a

patient’s perception of the quality of care received and helps
ensure compliance. As we discussed earlier in this course,

patients and their families are generally apprehensive and often
fearful about the prospect of anesthesia. Anesthesiologists

have very little time for personal patient engagement or
family interaction, so it’s important to take advantage of every

opportunity to build trust and alleviate fears through good
communication.

Page 34