Healthcare records
The promotion of patient safety is among the key objectives of healthcare organizations. Providers focus on preventing errors and the use of effective mitigation strategies to address malpractice issues that have already occurred. After identifying the problems, practitioners have the obligation of communicating the errors to patients. Family members or patients usually file malpractice complaints due to various reasons. First, some patients wish to seek justice following the occurrence of adverse health impacts. According to a survey among parents, 20% of them are likely to file complaints to acquire adequate information concerning how and why the issue of malpractice occurred among their patients (Amirthalingam, 2017). Thirdly, some patients focus on protecting other people from experiencing similar problems in the future. Accurate health documents can help risk managers to defend a case, especially if they clearly indicate that the problem was beyond the practitioner’s control.
Healthcare records can help risk managers to defend a case or impact negatively on the outcomes. Accurate records help the risk manager thoroughly analyze the case and determine how and why it occurred (Bonetti et al., 2016). The key elements that the manager can obtain from accurate documents include the logic behind the practitioners’ decisions and facts about their adopted interventions. In the case of allegations concerning substandard care, the manager can argue that the practitioner had followed critical procedures and that it was not possible to avoid the error (Amirthalingam, 2017). On the other hand, the documents can hurt the case if they are inaccurate and disorganized. Moreover, the alteration of records can lead to further allegations regarding false records, hence more charges. Therefore, the risk manager should advise the practitioners to maintain accurate and truthful records concerning malpractice to avoid such complications.
Risk managers in healthcare organizations have the obligation of not only defending the practitioners in court cases but also encouraging them to maintain accurate treatment records. As a result, the manager can offer reliable details during the case. Consequently, the chances of defending the provider are high since the value of honesty allows for fair negotiation approaches.