Risk Management on the PRMS Blog

A frequent call to our risk management helpline goes something like this: Physician: I’m treating a minor patient whose parents are divorced. Dad has not been involved in treatment but is now requesting a copy of my chart. Mom doesn’t want me to share anything with dad, so what do I do? Risk Manager: Do you have a copy of the custody order? Physician: No So we then start the di ...

In today’s New York Times, there’s an article discussing a recently released annual survey titled “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2014.” More than 153,000 freshmen from 227 US colleges and universities responded on a variety of topics, and the findings include: – They were more likely to aspire to advanced degrees – Self-rated spirituality declined – Alcohol and to ...

The New York Times reports that over the weekend a seven-alarm fire at CitiStorage, a warehouse in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, destroyed and/or displaced the medical records of numerous New York physicians and facilities. If you are one of the affected physicians, there are several steps you can take: – Call your professional liability insurance company to report a possi ...

There’s a new online JAMA article entitled Mandatory Use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs in which the authors state the following: “22 of the 49 states with PDMPs now legally mandate prescribers to query the system before writing for controlled substances with recognized potential for abuse or dependence.” To me, that statement seemed too broad to be true, as I’m only ...

Are you are thinking about adding e-prescribing to your practice? Or do you practice in New York (where you must begin e-prescribing by March 27th) and don’t know where to start? Here’s what you need to know: 1. Understand the law – federal and state Most federal law relevant to e-prescribing involves electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS). The software vendor m ...

Can’t decide what resolutions to make for 2015? How about making a resolution to improve patient care and reduce liability? We know from our experience in handling more than 20,000 claims and lawsuits against psychiatrists that your highest risk exposures are related to psychopharmacology and treating patients with suicidal behaviors. We also know that there are specific steps ...

I’ve recently had several calls from physicians who have developed an online presence to seek new patients. Online marketing of your practice seems like a great option to grow a practice. However, what I’m hearing is that many patients who find doctors online do not want a treatment relationship, but rather only want controlled substances. To dissuade potential patients who sim ...

Here are my top four things to consider before using Skype – or any other technology – for telemedicine: 1) Does the technology comply with HIPAA’s requirements? Under the Privacy Rule, the technology vendor is a Business Associate if it stores (for any amount of time, no matter how short) or has access to protected health information (patient demographic and medical informatio ...

As I am finalizing preparation for PRMS’ national CME seminar on technology in San Francisco on October 18, I saw the headlines about the hospital EHR flaw that is being mentioned in the press as a reason for the Ebola patient’s initial release from the hospital and the resulting public harm threat. From CNBC: “’The hospital Thursday night said when Duncan was first examined Se ...

If you’ve paid attention to the news lately, you’ve more than likely seen headlines about Johnson & Johnson being involved in litigation related to the marketing of Risperdal.  Recently, our clients have begun to receive more requests for medical records in connection with Risperdal litigation. In the event that you receive any such request, we would like to remind you to k ...