PSIC recently hosted a series of complimentary risk management webinars. In October, Vicki Vance, JD with Ohio firm Tucker Ellis LLP, presented on Risk and Legal Issues for Advanced Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants.

Posted in Risk Management on Tuesday, November 3, 2015

PSIC recently hosted a series of complimentary risk management webinars. In October, Vicki Vance, JD with Ohio firm Tucker Ellis LLP, presented on Risk and Legal Issues for Advanced Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants. In case you missed the webinar, here are a few risk management tips, learned from closed claims examples, which Ms. Vance shared:

1. Any services performed by a nurse practitioner (NP) or a physician assistant (PA) must be within his/her license, scope of practice, facility or practice protocols, and, when required by law, also be consistent with the written supervisory agreement between the NP/PA and supervising physician. Such agreements should be reviewed annually, or more frequently, as required by law, and modified accordingly.

2. Informed consent is a process and not just a piece of paper. Make sure your patients understand the information you are sharing.

3. Do not be prideful. When in doubt about a patient diagnosis or plan of care, ask or discuss your questions and concerns with your supervising physician.

4. Do not discount pain complaints or presenting symptoms. It’s easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. Rule out the most severe conditions first.

5. If you are prescribing make it your business to be informed and aware of any FDA, State Pharmacy Board, or recall issues.

To watch the complete Risk and Legal Issues for Advanced Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants webinar, as well as other PSIC risk management webinars, visit the webinars section of our website.