Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC): The edge in identifying patient safety and quality standards

Medical errors are one of the Nation’s leading causes of death and injury according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that as many as 44,000-98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of medical errors (Institute of Medicine, 2000) This equates to more people dying from medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS (Institute of Medicine, 2000). Medical errors could occur with the most routine of tasks such as ordering the wrong meal for a patient. Errors also occur due to the complexities of our healthcare system or voids in communications. Medication-related errors for hospitalized patients cost roughly $2 billion annually. (Institute of Medicine, 2000) The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is committed to improving safety for patients and their mission is to continuously improve safety and quality of care. A Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) has a critical role in assisting attorneys with personal injury and medical malpractice cases. LNC’s have the experience and know-how in identifying standards of care in clinical practice as set by JCAHO and other accrediting organizations. JCAHO regulates healthcare institutions and mandates patient safety standards to improve safety and reduce medical and healthcare errors that result in harm to patients. A near miss is an event that signals a weakness in the delivery of healthcare services. One role of the LNC is to identify breaches in near-miss management programs that are essential to patient safety. A sentinel event is any unanticipated or unusual event in a healthcare setting which results in death or serious physical injury to a person or persons. Sentinel events are usually linked to a number of near misses. JCAHO and other regulatory organizations require sentinel event processes and reporting in order to reduce the small mistakes that lead to large events.

JCAHO’s 2006 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG’s) is one way they are promoting specific improvements in patient safety. One NPSG is to “Improve the accuracy of patient identification.” This requires the use of at least two patient identifiers whenever administering medications or blood products; taking blood samples and other specimens for clinical testing, or providing any other treatments or procedures. Because nurses assess and evaluate patient care on a daily basis, LNC’s are the experts in patient safety and quality care standards. Personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys will find the knowledge and expertise of nurses useful to identify breaches and deviations in standards such as NPSG’s. LNC’s are able to identify system failures and individual cupability. It is the health care systems responsibility to provide structures and processes aimed at preventing errors, catching errors before they reach the patient, or minimizing the harm when errors occur. LNC’s are able to comb through a medical record to determine if and when an error occurred, and where in the chain of events the process faulted. A LNC provides the edge needed to assist attorneys in identifying patient safety and quality issues.

DMK Consulting & Associates, Inc. has the medical/nursing experience to navigate through your next stack of medical records. Visit www.dmkconsulting.us to learn more.