Events occurring with unanticipated deterioration of a patient’s condition, such as end-of-life, can result in legal issues. However, recall there are four required elements to move an allegation of malpractice forward in a court of law. (Review the Legal Terminology List and the “Malpractice … 4 essential elements” presentation if necessary before responding.) The four elements are a professional duty owed to the patient; breach of such duty; causation (injury caused by the breach); and resulting damages/injury.
1. Describe one example of actual or potential malpractice you have observed, been involved in, or heard about during your career. You may want to relay a “near miss” scenario. *Please refer to the Radonda Vaught case for this discussion*
2. Explain how each of the four elements were met as you describe the event.
3. Was a root cause analysis performed (review this definition because this process may be called something else in your agency)? Why or why not?
4. What processes were put in place to prevent this type of incident from happening again?
400 words minimum but may be more.