You are the risk manager for University Hospital. You have just been informed of an incident that occurred on your facility grounds. A patient came to your emergency department for chest pain. Unfortunately, he parked in a distant parking area around 100 yards away since parking was crowded directly in front of the Emergency Department. He collapsed behind his car in the parking lot. Security contacted the ED, whose charge nurse stated they were full and since the patient was not in the ED, to call 911 and have an ambulance transport the patient to the next closest facility. Security calls 911, but the EMS unit takes 14 minutes to respond. The patient expires due to a prolonged cardiac arrest “down time”.
Question: Provide a list of at least 3 risk management issues from the scenario. Then provide a way to mitigate the risk in this scenario. Be specific and provide details.
You just received notice of an issue in the surgical Unit of your facility. A 45 year old man was admitted through the ED for a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and evaluated by the cardiologist. The cardiologist told the patient that he needed an immediate balloon angioplasty. After a proper informed consent process the patient agreed to the procedure. One hour later the wife showed up angry and threatened to sue if they touch her husband. She read recently or saw on TV that this is not always a necessary procedure. The cardiologist performs the procedure anyway and the patent dies of complications. The wife sues the facility for battery. In reviewing the record you find that the patient received the informed consent form but there was no nursing staff witness signature.