Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Avoiding Malpractice - Useful Tips You Need To Know

By Alison Heath


Because of the rising costs in malpractice insurance for doctors, malpractice has been in the news lately. Some doctors have even had to close their practices due to this issue. Some doctors who are trying to make it without running into malpractice problems find it to be frustrating. However, there are some methods that can help to prevent malpractice problems.

A process called SOAP is what many doctors follow. In this process, simple steps to ensure the patient is fully aware of their situation and that the doctor covers all points necessary are outlined. There are some additions to the SOAP procedure that can help to further give the doctor and patient some security. The following list explains some simple steps a doctor can take to make the patient feel more comfortable and reduce the chance of a malpractice suit.

In all decision making, the patient should be included. Doctors need to fully explain all options, outcomes and risks to patients.

A clear and complete documentation should be kept. Many times, a key element to malpractice suits is documentation. Helping to save a doctor when it court is keeping clear and complete documentation.

Have you double checked important information? This is especially true when the patients condition is unclear. Don't forget to check and recheck things like vital signs and if it's kept documented, then this will help the doctor treat the patient better.

Protect everyone during a sensitive exam. When conducting a breast or genital exam, you should always have an assistant present. Make sure that the assistant note in the documentation that he or she was present during the whole exam.

Be sure that opinions are clearly stated from facts. The difference between facts and opinions are what patients should always understand when making statements about diagnosis, etc.

Making sure that the patients clearly understand about medications is a must. Patients should know when and how to take medications prescribed as well as the name of the medication. When you do this, many problems can be avoided.

Spending time with the patients. Be ready to answer any question the patient may have and do not rush through exams.

Some of the ways to help avoid malpractice or if malpractice occurs have been suggested and this is to help you get through the following matters. Nothing good will come out of malpractice. Both doctors and patients pay all because of malpractice suits. If malpractice is avoided, then it would be best for anyone. The best way to avoid malpractice problems is taking every possible step to ensure patients get the best medical care and feel comfortable.




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