Spolight Series 301: Disclosure of Medical Errors

Spotlight on Patient Safety: Disclosure of Medical Errors
4 CME Category One Credits toward AMA Physician's Recognition Award

Information

The need for the program was determined from comments from previous course participants and from malpractice insurers' statistics.

Goals

This is not a clinical course, and no attempt is being made to establish or promote protocols. Nor is this a legal course, and nothing presented herein should be construed as legal advice. This is a course about protecting your patients by developing the communication, documentation, analytical and planning skills that make the delivery of medical care safer. Research has shown that formalized processes increase consistency in action, making it more difficult for a doctor or other health care professional to overlook or forget a step. Such formalized processes reduce variation and ensure that all on the health care team will enact certain processes in the same way. These techniques serve to enhance patient care and reduce medical error. By learning and practicing these skills, you will reduce both the frequency and the severity of medical errors.

Objectives

When they complete this course, participants should be able to:

1. Discuss perceived barriers to disclosure and identify factors that make disclosure necessary.
2. Formulate a disclosure policy and procedure for your practice.
3. Outline the steps doctors must take to prepare for the disclosure of a medical error.
4. Describe follow-up procedures to disclosure of a medical error.

Methodology

Spotlight on Patient Safety: Disclosure of Medical Errors through CRM is a self-study course, with CME test.

Target Audience

This seminar is designed for physicians of all specialties who want to sharpen their risk management skills. A basic knowledge of risk management and malpractice is assumed.

Faculty

This seminar was authored by Rosemary Gafner, Ed.D.

CME Information

This seminar is provided in partnership with Medical Risk Management, Inc.

Medical Risk Management, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing education to physicians. Medical Risk Management, Inc. designates this continuing medical education activity for a maximum of 4 Category 1 credit(s) toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

This activity was planned and produced in accordance with the ACCME Standards for Enduring Materials.

Physicians who satisfactorily complete this seminar with a score of 80 percent or better will receive a certificate of completion that will document their participation in this program.

Required Time

Estimated study time: 3.5 hours
Estimated testing time: 30 minutes

Corexcel is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Satisfactory completion of the test will earn the nurse 7.2 contact hours.