Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Compounding Disaster - July 2016 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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5 Lessons From the Joan Rivers Lawsuit Higher safety standards will reduce your exposure to liability claims. W hat lessons can we learn from the recently settled medical malpractice lawsuit against the clinic where Joan Rivers stopped breath- ing and died days after undergoing a routine endoscopy? The suit alleged that doctors at Yorkville Endoscopy performed unauthorized procedures, snapped a cell phone selfie with the comedienne and failed to act as her vital signs deteriorated. In a statement, Ms. Rivers's daughter, Melissa Rivers, said that she "will work towards ensuring higher safety standards in outpatient surgical clinics." Here are 5 key takeaways from the case. Routine doesn't mean risk-free. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) reminds us that although anesthesia is now considered routine, that doesn't mean it is risk-free. "Any number of things can go wrong in the operating room," said ASA President Jane C. K. Fitch, MD. Whether you're in a fast-paced cataract clinic, an endoscopy suite or a standard OR, stress to staff and physicians to treat each case with extreme care and remain on guard to protect the patient. Mistakes can be costly. The amount of the Rivers settlement wasn't disclosed, but lawyers confirmed that it was "substantial." 1 2 2 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U l y 2 0 1 6 Medical Malpractice Michael Wong, JD • COMEDY OF ERRORS With the Joan Rivers malpractice case settled, there are some key takeaways from the tragedy.

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