Medical malpractice is a significant concern for physicians across all specialties.
Here are 10 new malpractice concerns, according to a Medscape report.
• High deductible health plans. There are an increasing number of patients with high deductible health plans. Often, patients will delay care due to cost concerns related to their deductibles. Despite a patient’s decision to delay care, physicians can still be on the hook for offering preventative tests, according to the report. Consider carefully documenting all patient instructions and discussing lower-cost alternatives.
• Clinical practice guidelines. Though built on a foundation of evidence-based medicine, clinical practice guidelines may not be entirely reliable. These guidelines are will not always be a strong defense in the malpractice cases.
• ACOs. ACOs are focused on providing quality care for less, but this could increase malpractice issues. Patients may have higher expectations of care and plaintiffs’ lawyers could use the focus on cost-savings as a negative.
• Team care. Collaborative care is becoming more of a focus, but larger teams could lead to increased liability. Even if a physician is not directly responsible for an error, but a team member is, the entire team could considered be liable, according to the report.
• Smartphones. Smartphones can be helpful tools in the healthcare setting, but they can be distracting. Consider establishing regulations for smartphone use in the care setting.
• Social media. Social media presence for healthcare providers is increasingly important, but it does represent risks. Physicians can be held liable for what they post, particularly if it pertains to patients.
• EHRs. EHRs are an integral part of healthcare, but the increasing amount of clinical information and how it is shared opens healthcare providers to risk. Errors are possible. Additionally, EHRs provide a large amount of evidence in stored clinical data that can be used in malpractice cases.
• Telemedicine. Widespread adoption of telemedicine is relatively new in healthcare. Malpractice lawsuits for this new area of care are expected, according to the report.
• Physician employment. Physician employment is on the rise, and employed physicians have less control of their defense in medical malpractice cases, according to the report.
• State board complaints. Patient complaints to state medical boards and malpractice cases are closely related, according to the report.