By Eric Feigenbaum
Related
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Operating a health care business comes with all kinds of serious risks. After all, having other people's lives and well-being in your hands is a serious matter. While most patients are grateful for the help and most days are very rewarding of a health care provider, health care businesses of all sizes must consider the moments when things go wrong and plan for the worst case scenarios.
The Worst
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When you're dealing with life and death, death is a real possibility. Even in a small practice, emergencies happen. Geriatric and highly ill patients can have problems anywhere at anytime. Staff members have to be prepared and make good decisions. However, in medicine there is always risk and not everyone can be saved. Malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death complaints and lawsuits can result.
Insurance
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Physicians, nurses, physicians' assistants and nurse practitioners dispense medical advice and education as part of their jobs. But everyone is wrong sometime. And even when they're right, patients don't always understand or interpret correctly. Decisions that a patient makes and the success or failure of a course of treatment can come back on a health care provider, even despite his or her best efforts. This is why, in smaller practices and health care operations, it is common that both the practice and the individual clinicians have liability insurance.
Employee Safety
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Sometimes taking care of others is dangerous work. Moving heavy patients, preventing falls, helping people with seizures, dealing with psychiatric patients or patients experiencing trauma can have physical consequences to those providing care. Employers not only need to develop good policies and procedures, but have adequate liability and workers compensation insurance.
References
Writer Bio
Eric Feigenbaum started his career in print journalism, becoming editor-in-chief of "The Daily" of the University of Washington during college and afterward working at two major newspapers. He later did many print and Web projects including re-brandings for major companies and catalog production.
