Knowledge Library

An adverse drug event (ADE) is defined as “harm experienced by a patient as a result of exposure to a medication.”¹ The Institute of Medicine says an ADE is “an injury resulting from a medical intervention.”² Like any adverse event, occurrence of an ADE does not necessarily indicate an error or poor quality care. However, adverse drug events account for nearly 700,000 emergency department visits and 100,000 hospitalizations annually.¹

The digital practice—the electronic storage, access, sharing, and monitoring of health information—promises increased convenience, improved patient care, and lower costs.¹ But this electronic access to medical records also brings with it the risk of cyberattacks and new avenues for employee error and misuse that could put sensitive patient data at risk of exposure and your practice at risk of violating state and federal regulatory and privacy laws.

Acting Secretary of HHS in 2017 declared a public health emergency to address what he called a “national opioid crisis.” It’s easy to see why. The number of people dying from opioid overdoses is increasing¹ and the economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone is estimated at $78.5 billion a year in the U.S.² Furthermore, due to the increased scrutiny by law enforcement and regulatory agencies and the risk of dependency and overdose there are increased liability risks for physicians related to opioid prescribing.

In this special report, the risk management experts at NORCAL offer recommendations supporting sound pain management principles for mitigating these risks and increasing patient safety with opioids.

The growth of online physician rating sites is causing a lot of physicians to feel like they’re losing control of their reputations. When seeing negative comments online, it’s natural for professionals to want to respond immediately to defend their reputations. But is that always the best course of action?

Nearly half of U.S. physicians—44%—report feeling burned out, with 59% citing too many bureaucratic tasks as the chief contributor.¹ This is a serious concern, because physician burnout can lead to patients suffering adverse events² or leave physicians unable to express empathy and compassion with their patients.³