Page 36 - Hospitalists - Risks When You're the Doctor in the House (Part One)

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

to obtain information about the patient’s condition and history

that may not be in the chart. This rapport is also essential to
the patient and family during the discharge process and after

the patient returns home. Patients do not always understand
discharge instructions, so a trusting relationship between the

patient and physician facilitates questions and, in turn, answers.
Likewise, a patient is more likely to contact his physician

with post-discharge problems when he feels he can trust the
physician. Obviously, this results in better care for the patient.

Common examples of breakdowns in communication between

physician and patient include:

• Insufficient patient counseling

» Failure to educate regarding changes to medications

• Inadequate discharge instructions

» Failure to instruct as to what post-op symptoms to

look for and when to notify the physician

• Lack of informed consent

» Failure to review pertinent risks, benefits, and

alternatives to the proposed procedure/medication
and to ensure patient’s questions are answered

Informed Consent

While informed consent is rarely the central issue in a lawsuit,
it is almost always included as an allegation. In the claims

reviewed where consent was an issue, it was related to the
failure to review specific risks, benefits, and alternatives

associated with a proposed procedure, as well as to ensure
the patient had an opportunity to have his or her questions

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