Team Care May Open New Risks and pose a threat

Client: 15 Physician Clinic, Chicago, IL Date: June 2017

OVERVIEW:

ACOs, patient-centered medical homes, multi-specialty clinics, and hospital systems are increasingly using healthcare teams to deliver care, and this raises a few possible liability dangers.

THE CHALLENGE

The top 5 challenges

  1. no one is in charge
  2. vicarious liability
  3. While he’s my patient he’s not my problem
  4. poor handoffs
  5. losing the personal connectionx


The old model of a GP participating at each step is giving way to expanded-care teams that seem to leave no one doctor answerable.

Membership on the team creates liability under the legal concept of vicarious liability. So if another physician is not good at communicating or documenting it vicariously implicated other members of the care team.

Due to conflicting views on the care needed, Team members sometimes pass off responsibility because they have different and sometimes conflicting views on what care is needed. A physician may feel the responsibility to not act because it’s after all not his “plan of care” .

Poor hand-off and communication between teams are often seen by patients as “screw-ups” and loss of personal patient-provider bond opens providers to liability.

Where there’s a case or not, there is certainly the expense and the aching.  

THE SOLUTION

RiskAssistMD offers a solution that is specific to team care. It provides communication and even includes documentation that is specific to risk management under these circumstances.

The solution is also

  • Easy to implement
  • Inexpensive
  • Automated
 

The solution is centered on principles of

  • PT Notification
  • PT acknowledgment of notification
  • Clear and precise documentation.

THE RESULTS

  • The results of this simple solution are surprising.

    • 20% of patients comply within 2 weeks and 25% within 4
    • Clinics see increased revenue
    • A 100% of cases are Risk documented
    • Better outcomes
HIGHLIGHTS
  • Not one doctor in-charge
  • Vicarious liability
  • Poor team communication
  • Lack of personal physician responsibility
  • Poor doc-patient bonding
 

The aforesaid reasons sometimes lead to circumstances that often seen by patients as the “reason why my care was messed up” thereby exposing care teams to medical malpractice claims.

ACOs and “teams” are often seen as an easy target and even sometimes seen as “two targets” thus further increasing the risk of claims.

A simple solution in technology is proposed by RiskAssitMD technology that is finding application in team care with ACOs and clinics.

Clinic adoption

  • 3 RiskAssistMD clinics have adopted this solution specifically directed at these situations
  • Results are encouraging and report
    • 20% patient compliance within the first 2 weeks and
    • 25% within the first four
 

Customization

RiskAssistMD is able to customize these and other sections to accommodate the clinic’s special needs

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