OB Hospitalist Program: Clear Communication Channels are Critical
This case study details an OB hospitalist program and the criticality of clear communication channels. THE CASE A 30-year-old mother with appropriate prenatal care presents, at 39 weeks, to Labor and Delivery (L&D). Initial nursing assessment notes 6 cm dilation and a brow presentation. The nurse notifies the patient’s primary OB, who is not in-house….
Surviving EMTALA Investigations: Ensuring and Proving Compliance
This case study details how to survive EMTALA investigations and both ensure and prove compliance. WHAT In the last few years, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) has increasingly set its sights on investigating Emergency Departments (EDs) for potential violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Hardenbergh Group has observed that…
Aging Physicians: Ensuring Clinical Competence
This case study explores aging physicians and how to ensure clinical competence. WHAT Have any of these happened in your hospital lately? A late-career primary care physician still wants to manage ICU patients but fails to utilize the resources of critical care physicians and underestimates the severity of his patient’s illness, and an avoidable poor…
Are Your Providers Struggling to Meet Current Performance Standards for Sepsis Management?
How do you help your providers meet current sepsis management performance standards? Are they struggling? THE EVIDENCE IS CLEAR Strict adherence to sepsis guidelines results in dramatic improvements in morbidity and mortality. Emergency Medicine physicians, internists, hospitalists, intensivists, surgical specialists, nurses, and other providers must be fluent in current standards and ready to act immediately…
Peer Review and Trending: More Powerful Together
In this case study, we describe how valuable and effective peer review and trending are together. THE SITUATION Do any of these situations sound familiar? Increase in frequency of bile leaks after laparoscopic cholecystectomy Patients are returning to the OR for bleeding complications after cardiothoracic surgery Abdominal surgery patients are experiencing wound dehiscence and surgical…
What Can Peer Review Do for You?
If you’re wondering how peer review works and what it can do for you, you’ll want to review these examples and analysis. CASE STORY #1 An elderly patient presented with severe shortness of breath. Based on a specialist’s interpretation of a diagnostic study, an emergency procedure was scheduled for a potentially life-threatening condition. However, the…
The Importance of Complete Medical Records
Complete medical records are critical for effective peer review. This article explains why. WHAT DOES EFFECTIVE PEER REVIEW LOOK LIKE? Health care organizations often struggle to develop a peer review program that is unbiased and meaningful. In an effort to obtain a truly objective review, many organizations turn to Hardenbergh Group for external peer review….
Supporting a Physician Whose Practice Is Questioned
WHO In question is a well-respected physician, a senior surgeon with an outstanding reputation, decades of successful practice in a major metropolitan area, and a wide base of referrals. WHAT A complaint filed by a junior member of the surgeon’s department. The complaint alleged that the surgeon in question was performing surgeries that were unnecessarily…
The Hardenbergh Group, Inc. Acquires MDReview
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – December 13, 2019 – The Hardenbergh Group, the leading provider of temporary staffing and consulting solutions for medical staff services, credentialing, and provider enrollment, today announced that it has acquired MDReview, the leading provider of external physician peer review services for hospitals and health systems throughout the United States. For over 15…