Page 71 - OB Risks - Delivering the Goods (Part One)

SVMIC Obstetrics Risks: Delivering the Goods

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.

In the obstetrics specialty, there is heightened scrutiny of

the physician or other practitioner’s skills. If it becomes
apparent that the patient is likely to require specialized care,

it is important to leverage the available experience of more
specialized health care providers. The failure to appropriately

refer is an allegation often seen when a patient has a condition
or comorbidity that was neglected or undertreated during the

pregnancy. Additionally, it is important to maintain competency
in handling obstetrical emergencies; to assist with that, many

institutions are requiring healthcare providers who deliver
babies to participate in structured multidisciplinary mock drills

and simulations.

In Part Two, we will look at some of the specific risk areas that

obstetricians routinely face and ways to reduce those risks.

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