Safety and compliance-related hazards in the medical practice: Part one.
Safety and risk management hazards are a fact of life for the medical practice, and the costs of these incidents can place the group at significant risk of liability. Good compliance and risk management programs help minimize these incidents, improve staff morale, increase a practice's visibility in the community, and positively affect the practice's financial and operational bottom line performance. Medical practices that implement effective safety and risk management programs can realize savings in staffing costs, operational efficiency, morale, insurance premiums, and improved third-party relationships while at the same time avoiding embarrassing risks, fines, and liability. This article outlines some of the most common safety and risk management-related deficiencies seen in medical practices today. The author explains how to remedy these deficiencies and provides a self-test tool to enable the reader to assess areas within his or her own practice in need of attention.
Calway
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MedSafe, Inc., Waltham, MA 02451, USA. bcalway@medsafe.com
D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal / Q000191:economics; D016272:Occupational Health; D005791:Patient Care; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012308:Risk Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D014481:United States