Page 16 - Risk Reduction Series Effective Systems Part 2

SVMIC Risk Reduction Series: Effective Systems

is a leading contributor to professional licensure complaints

and is estimated to contribute to 30 percent of all malpractice
claims. Miscommunications are often driven by ineffective or

inconsistent systems.

As with follow-up appointments, it is recommended that
physicians have a tracking system in place to alert them to

those patients who have failed to make or keep appointments
following discharge from the hospital. Often times, patients

discharged from the hospital are not even established patients
in the office practice. Although the practice may have a process

in place for scheduling follow-up appointments with discharged
patients during business hours, there are circumstances

that may result in a discharge after the office is closed. This
necessitates the establishment of a consistent process to verify

that appointments have been made for all discharges from the
hospital. Because there may be competing priorities and staffing

considerations which affect the hospital’s ability to arrange
these appointments, it is important to avoid relying on hospital

staff to complete this task. Instead, the discharging physician
should communicate this information to staff at the office. Then,

a designated employee should verify that each discharged
patient has been scheduled for a follow-up visit. If the patient

has not scheduled an appointment after a reasonable amount of
time, efforts should be made to contact the patient.

Another frequent risk concerning discharged patients involves
pending test results.

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