Week 3 Assignment

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Northcentral University *

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7006

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Health Science

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 Week 3 Assignment: Recommend Strategies to Mitigate Risk of Negligence Litigation Within Healthcare Shermaine Stuckey School of Health Sciences, Northcentral University DHA 7006- Health Law, Ethics and Policy Julie Miller December 26, 2022

2 Recommend Strategies to Mitigate Risk of Negligence Litigation Within Healthcare Findings of Negligence It is estimated that about 100,000 people die every year from medical errors that could be prevented (Cheluvappa & Selvendra, 2020). While many organizations are involved in hospital procedures, they do not completely eradicate medical errors. The blame is finally sent to the receiving hospitals, with the patients becoming the victims. The case of the Duke University Hospital transplant happened when a 17-year-old patient, Jessica Santillan, underwent surgery to transplant her heart and two lungs. A Duke Hospital surgeon misinterpreted a message from the organ donor bank. The surgeon thought that the organ was a blood type match when the bank informed him that the organs were available for the patients. The hospital and the organ donor bank had responsibilities to fulfill in this case. The hospital was supposed to send the details of the patients to the donor, and the donor, on the other hand, could have reciprocated with a confirmation of the received details, including the blood type. While the donor bank could reject the negligence, the hospital could not walk away with the case. In this case, the Duke University Hospital confirmed their errors and admitted that it was due to their negligence and mistakes that the patient died. Failure of Organizational Procedures and Policies Hospitals, like any other organization, have a structure of systems and procedures that must be followed. Surgery is critical and requires caution and intensive care when performed. The case of the Duke University Hospital was a tragic mistake when Jessica received the right organs with the wrong blood type (HRM, 2003). In this case, her body rejected the organs, causing her system to shut down. The Duke University Hospital in this case should have a confirmation strategy where the surgeon department must keep close communication with the

3 donor to ensure that the organs received are for the right patient, from the right donor, and with the correct compatibility. Blood type conformation has four points of confirmation, and in this case, there are minimal chances of an error. The donor’s local organ procurement must check and confirm the blood type, which is followed by a national organ procurement system check. The risk management at Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) in this case confirms the compatibility of the organ and ensures it is sent to the right hospital and the right patient. Finally, the surgeons in the hospital must ensure the organ matches the patient and that the right procedures are followed. Conclusions and recommendations Heart and lung surgeries are very delicate, and a slight error in the procedures could result in the death of the patient. The case of the Duke may not be the first or last one. As a result, hospitals must exercise caution in all surgical procedures (Rodziewicz, Houseman, & Hipskind, 2022). A panel or team of surgeons must be present in hospitals to ensure that the confirmation procedures are followed. In this case, they should get the patient's details and confirm that they are the right patient. Following that, they should maintain an open line of communication with the donor to ensure that the information they shared with the patient is the same as what the donor receives. On the other hand, they should check that what they receive from the donor is what they asked for. In this case, following and repeating the four-point conformation is important. Including two nurses to recheck the blood type compatibility is crucial and must be the fifth protocol in this case to ensure that there are no chances of an error due to a mismatch. Finally, the government should instill heavy fines for deaths that result from hospital negligence to ensure that the hospitals have a clear system of conforming to health and medical procedures.

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4 References Cheluvappa, R., & Selvendra, S. (2020). Medical negligence - Key cases and application of legislation. Annals of Medicine and Surgery , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2020.07.017. HRM. (2003). Duke transplant error spurs hospitals, risk managers to reassess programs. Healthcare Risk Management , https://advance-lexis-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/api/permalink/77cac28d-c589-400f- ac9a-98035798ad51/?context=1516831. Rodziewicz, T. L., Houseman, B., & Hipskind, J. E. (2022). Medical Error Reduction and Prevention. National Library of Medicine , https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/.

Week 3 Assignment

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