4 Key Takeaways in the Nurse Practitioners Claim Report
The
Nurse Practitioners Claim Report provides data and analysis about the malpractice risks confronting today’s NPs. Included with it are CNA’s loss control recommendations for helping to improve patient safety and decreasing your exposure to potential litigation.
The Report is presented to the healthcare community to help NPs examine their practice, understand their vulnerabilities, and take the necessary steps to reduce their risks. Here are four of the most important takeaways from the Report:
1. Risk Control Recommendations (starting on page 41)
Scope of Practice: Here you will find tips from CNA aimed at helping nurses to stay with their state’s scope-of-practice act and their employer’s policies and procedures.
Records Management: Because careful documentation is among your best defenses in the courtroom, these six pages provide a detailed guide on how to keep effective patient records.
Electronic Technology & Social Media: Policies for the responsible use of texts, blogs, websites, IMs, and social networking posts—all of which can be used against you in the courtroom.
Informed Consent: Strategies for using the informed consent discussion and documentation efficiently, with the goal of managing patient expectations and reducing misunderstandings.
Suicide Prevention: Reading through the warning signs from the CDC will help you recognize potential suicide risks; included are links to resources for further information and study.
Medication Management: Guidelines for avoiding medication errors, advice on evaluating opioid risks, and tools for using prescription drug monitoring programs.
Diagnostic Test Result Management/Serial Testing: This section provides tips for creating a form to document test-related calls, and risk-reduction measures related to serial testing.
2. Legal Cases (pages 18, 26, 38) (
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These legal case studies taken from CNA’s files provide a look inside real malpractice court cases. Examining the experiences of your peers provides key insights you can incorporate into your own practice.
3. Self-Assessment Checklist (page 45) (
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Use this self-assessment checklist to review your practice and determine whether your actions align with the recommendations.
4. Claim Tips (page 48)
Three proactive measures to include within your everyday practice, along with detailed instructions on what to do if you become aware of a potential malpractice claim.