I recently was involved in a medical malpractice trial in which the nurses’ documentation was at issue. Or perhaps more appropriately would be to say it was the nurses’ lack of documentation. Sometimes we get so busy with our work, but documentation is the only thing that may save you if there is a medical malpractice action. Many States have a statute of limitations which is a timeframe setting up a deadline for when a lawsuit can be filed. Here, in Indiana, that statute limitation is 2 … [Read more...]
Two Sides To Every Coin
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, a nonprofit home health care agency, has recently been named in a lawsuit under the Federal and State False Claims Act alleging that the agency improperly and falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid. It is hard to believe that such a long standing agency that has served its state resident since 1893 has had this claim filed against them. Visiting Nurse Service of New York denies the allegations. Remember that there are 2 sides of every lawsuit and, in … [Read more...]
Technology Can Put Us At Odds With Patient Care
Did you know that most automatic medication dispensing systems track discrepancies? All discrepancies should be resolved by the end of the shift. They also report when controlled substances are taken and can compare the medications vended versus the medications charted. Then, someone needs to check whether the waste was properly documented. Was there an order for the medication? How often did the nurse remove the medication for a particular patient? Is the effectiveness of the medication … [Read more...]
Nurses Speak Your Mind: Change Is Possible
Recently, I have had so many issues with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency and the State Nursing Board that it got to the point where I could not sleep at night. I decided it was up to me to go out and make change. I really had no idea how to do it. I am a great advocate one-on-one for my clients, but I have never had the experience of making change for the collective (outside of the hospital). However, I used what I know about making change such as approaching things from a … [Read more...]
Skip the Fancy Towels!
Alexandra Robbins is the author of “The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital.” She recently wrote an article for the New York Times titled “Skip the Fancy Towels and Hire More Nurses,” which discusses how hospitals are going about providing more concierge-type services. Flat screen TVs, monogrammed towels, gazebo patios for patient smoke breaks, fancy gyms, pool and even expresso machines. None of these luxuries are for use by hospital … [Read more...]
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