Page 19 - Hospitalists - Risks When You're the Doctor in the House (Part One)

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

Additionally, the above graph reflects the Top Primary

Allegations. This information has been included to give you a
general idea of the types of claims reported to the MPLA by

its members, but be aware that not all professional liability
insurance carriers codify/report claims in a uniform manner.

Additionally, each claim may contain multiple allegations,
and you will note that only the Top Primary Allegation is

listed. For example, there is only one identified claim where
documentation was the primary allegation. That is not to say

that documentation errors were not present in a majority of the
other claims – it simply indicates that the documentation errors

were not the primary allegation.

Who’s in Charge?

Before we address the most prevalent errors that potentially
create liability for the hospitalist and suggest practices to help

reduce those errors, we first have to ensure the hospitalist’s
role is clearly defined and understood. Too often before issues

relating to medical care can be evaluated in a courtroom,
hospitalists torpedo their own defense during depositions by

plaintiff attorneys when trying to answer the most elemental
question: “What were your responsibilities to this patient?”

Every hospitalist must be able to answer this question clearly
and concisely, and to accurately describe his/her role in the care

of each individual patient. This issue can best be illustrated by
an example.

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