Giant Cell Arteritis Toolkit (2022)
Allegations of failure to diagnose are common in medical malpractice lawsuits against ophthalmologists. Some ophthalmic conditions, such as giant cell arteritis (GCA), have a short window for diagnosis and treatment. The patient then risks severe bilateral vision loss, and the treating ophthalmologist incurs liability exposure.
OMIC offers the following tools, developed by board member Ron Pelton, MD, to help ophthalmologists strengthen their diagnostic and patient management process for GCA:
Giant Cell Arteritis Checklist
· Helps prompt questions to ask patients during the work-up, and track completion of key tests and consults.
GCA Pt Info Sheet with Consent-Refusal
· Supports communication to patients of signs and symptoms to watch for and instructions for contacting the ophthalmologist. Includes a sample form to document the patient’s understanding of GCA in general and consent or refusal to proceed with treatment in general.
Medical Decision Making: Clinical and Risk Management Considerations
| July 7, 2022
Dear OMIC Insureds: The Risk Management Hotline often receives questions from ophthalmologists about whether a certain procedure is appropriate or recommended for a patient. These types of questions have two factors: clinical and risk management. Clinical Our Risk Managers will remind physicians that OMIC does not provide clinical direction or determine the standard of care. For that aspect, we recommend that ophthalmologists consult the relevant AAO Preferred Practice Patterns, such as Cataract in the Adult Eye, Refractive Errors and Refractive Surgery, etc. Risk Management A deviation from accepted practice can be problematic from both a patient safety and professional liability standpoint. Physicians need to clearly document their clinical reasoning as to why a particular treatment is appropriate and safe for that specific patient, including documenting other treatment(s), both medical and surgical, that have been tried without success. If a patient wants treatment or surgery, but is not a good candidate, the physician needs to communicate that to the patient, explore alternatives, and document that conversation. See OMIC’s Cataract Surgery Recommendations for examples of how to apply this risk management process. In addition, Documentation of Ophthalmic Care provides our key recommendations on documenting the diagnostic process and more. If you have questions, contact us for confidential risk management advice at riskmanagement@omic.com or call us at 1-800-562-6642 and enter 4 for Risk Management. Sincerely, Jane Mock, CPHRM CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This correspondence is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. Dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail or the information herein by anyone other than the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us at riskmanagement@omic.com and destroy the original message and all copies. |
