Legal

By Jeffrey Fitzgerald

The opioid epidemic is real, and it shows no signs of waning without significant changes in the medical field. According to a preliminary report issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in August 2018, more than 72,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2017 – an increase of almost seven percent year-over-year. The 2017 preliminary death count  represents twice the number of deaths from 2007. In fact, opioid overdose is now the leading cause of death in American adults under age 50.

These statistics make it a very scary time for physicians treating patents with chronic pain, especially when the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) are repeatedly discussing it in the news and state attorneys general are actively cracking down on health insurance companies, prescription drug manufacturers, pharmacies and prescribers. Today, all parts of the health care industry are under immense scrutiny.

[Read more…] about Legal Considerations in the Era of an Epidemic

By Larry Lacombe

All hospitals strive for 100 percent compliance. Having a safe, functional environment to provide the best care possible to patients is the ultimate goal for caregivers and executives alike. But “establishing and maintaining a safe, functional environment” is not as easy as it seems. In fact, 70 percent of hospitals surveyed by the Joint Commission in 2017 were not-compliant with this requirement. The top five requirements identified as “not compliant” for hospital accreditation surveys are:

1. The hospital provides and maintains systems for extinguishing fires: 86 percent non-compliant
2. The hospital manages risks associated with its utility systems: 73 percent non-compliant
3. The hospital provides and maintains building features to protect individuals from the hazards of fire and smoke: 72 percent non-compliant
4. The hospital reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices and supplies: 72 percent non-compliant
5. The hospital established and maintains a safe, functional environment: 70 percent non-compliant

This does not mean hospitals are unsafe or fire hazards. It means they are falling short of the Joint Commission’s requirements and benchmarks to strive toward.

[Read more…] about Mitigating Vendor Risks to Combat Hospitals’ Most Common Non-Compliance Requirements

By Valentina Minetti

It is well known that a large number of medical malpractice claims result from problems related to obstetrics (OB). Recent data suggest the cost of such claims is climbing higher. Based on the cases handled by Beazley in late 2018, jury awards across the spectrum of hospital care are creeping up and the current cost of OB claims is especially high. 

Data from Beazley’s U.S. hospitals professional liability claims database shows a steep increase in the severity of claims in many jurisdictions. This includes those that benefit from tort reform (where caps on non-economic damages or other types of damages apply) and the venues that traditionally have had a more benign claims record. This trend is apparent both in the statistics from the 900,000 records in the database, and corroborated by our claims team, which works with insureds to mitigate the effect of large events.

The increase in claims severity is related to medical malpractice plaintiff lawyers’ increasing success in securing advantageous results for their clients.  Juries have been progressively more generous in their judgments and several jurisdictions have witnessed record verdicts in the last three years. This has driven up the settlement value of claims, while more insureds are afraid of negative publicity and potential reputational damage from taking cases to court. 

With fewer hospitals willing to try cases in court, claims that previously were settled for limited amounts can now be as much as twice as costly to close.  The expectations of plaintiffs and their lawyers have increased proportionally to the plaintiff bar’s successes.

[Read more…] about New data suggest obstetrics medical malpractice claims are increasingly costly

In 2018, several regulatory changes were announced that have an impact on the practice of pharmacy. The first was a continuation by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) to revise general chapters <795> and <797>, which cover the topics of compounding nonsterile and sterile preparations. The goal was to better align these two chapters with USP <800> (“Hazardous Drugs – Handling in Healthcare Settings”), which was published in 2016. All three of these chapters are scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2019.

The USP proposed revision to <795> was released on March 30, 2018, with a public comment period that ended on July 31, 2018. The proposed revision for <797> followed on July 27, 2018, with a public comment period that closed on November 30, 2018. Facilities that perform nonsterile or sterile compounding must understand the proposed changes and determine the potential impact.  

Below are the revisions that will require attention. 

[Read more…] about Hospitals Facing More Rapidly Changing Regulations