Page 41 - Hospitalists - Risks When You're the Doctor in the House (Part One)

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

but may also help the patient set realistic expectations as to

the outcome of treatment. Be careful not to educate above and
beyond a patient’s comprehension level.

As stated earlier, medication reconciliation and prescribing at

discharge continue to pose significant risk for hospitalists. Often,
a patient is discharged with a new medication, and the patient

does not have a follow-up visit with the primary care provider in
the immediate future. Many are high-risk medications and could

require informed consent either by law or the standard of care.
It’s imperative that the hospitalist prescribing new medication

discusses the risks, benefits, and alternatives to medication
treatment and documents the conversation. It is generally not

necessary to have a written consent form. However, in some
instances, such as Tennessee’s law for opioid treatment greater

than a three-day supply, written informed consent may be
required.

Be sure the details of all discussions

with patients are documented in the
medical record rather than relying

solely on hospital consent forms that
are not procedure-specific and may not
capture all details of the conversation.

Most often in the cases we reviewed, the only documentation
associated with the consent process was a boilerplate hospital

consent form which failed to reflect the details of the discussion
between the physician and patient. Without an accurate and

detailed informed consent note, a physician’s ability to argue

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