Page 30 - Hospitalists - Risks When You're the Doctor in the House (Part One)

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

In the majority of SVMIC cases involving diagnostic errors,

a cause or contributing factor was usually something else
within the physician’s control, such as communication or

documentation, which affected the decision-making process.
From a liability standpoint, the key to reducing risk and

improving patient safety is to control the things you can
control. If you improve your communication and documentation,

implement systems and use them consistently, listen to your
patients, and improve your bedside manner, you will reduce the

likelihood of making a diagnostic error as well as the chances of
being sued. At the very least, you will increase your chances for

success at trial.

At SVMIC, when we review claims against our policyholders to
determine what improvements could be made to reduce risk, we

start by looking at the most prevalent areas or factors that make
a claim either indefensible or more difficult to defend. A review

of SVMIC hospitalist closed claims during 2008-2015, where a
loss was paid on behalf of an insured, reveals the basic areas

that contributed to the indefensibility of hospitalist claims. These
issues are illustrated in the following graph:

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