What were the consequences of a failure to report?

View the scenario called “critical decision making for providers”

The following is a brief introduction to the topic:

The ability to make good decisions is crucial for health care providers. Their choices can impact patients, their organization and others. The paper presents a case study involving Mike, who was a laboratory technician that failed to notify his superiors of abnormal results. This led to severe consequences. The paper analyzes the consequences of Mike’s failure to report, including its impact on patient safety, litigation risk, organization’s quality metrics, and workload of other hospital departments. Furthermore, the paper outlines the steps that can be taken by Mike’s manager to address the issue with him and ensure that other staff members do not repeat the same mistakes.

Scenario

Mike is a lab technician who has been working in the hospital’s laboratory for five years. One day, he performs a test on a patient’s blood sample and discovers that the patient has an abnormal level of potassium in their blood. Mike believes that it could be a result of a laboratory error, and he decides to not report the results to his physician. A week after the patient was discharged from hospital, he suffered a cardiac arrest. It is later discovered that the patient’s abnormal potassium level was the cause of their death.

Inability to report a crime can have serious consequences

Mike’s decision not to report the abnormal potassium level had severe consequences. Firstly, it compromised patient safety, as the physician was not aware of the abnormal lab result and was unable to take appropriate action to prevent the patient’s death. Secondly, it increased the risk of litigation for the hospital, as the patient’s family may sue the hospital for medical malpractice. Thirdly, it negatively impacted the organization’s quality metrics, as the hospital’s reputation may be damaged if the incident is made public. The incident increased workload in other hospital departments as the media and court proceedings may increase.

And how to Address it

As Mike’s manager, it is important to address the issue with him to ensure that he understands the severity of his actions and to prevent other staff members from making the same mistakes. You can take the following steps:

1. Review Mike’s performance. The manager needs to review Mike’s performance in order to find out why Mike failed to inform the lab of an abnormal result. It will allow the manager to pinpoint any problems, including lack of knowledge, unclear policy, and communication issues.
2. Education and Training: The manager, based on Mike’s performance evaluation, should educate and train him on why it is important to report abnormal lab results. This should include a review of the hospital’s policies and procedures on lab reporting.
3. Monitor and audit: Managers should use monitoring and auditory procedures to make sure that results from lab tests are accurately reported and in a timely manner. The manager can then identify potential problems early on and help prevent them from happening again.
4. Promote a culture for reporting: Encourage staff members to notify the manager of abnormal laboratory results and incidents. Staff members can receive feedback for reporting incidents, and a culture of blamelessness will encourage staff to do so.

You can also read our conclusion.

The failure to disclose abnormal lab test results could have grave consequences on patients, organizations, and stakeholders. The ability to take critical decisions is crucial for all healthcare professionals. They must also understand the significance of reporting abnormal laboratory results. As demonstrated in the scenario involving Mike, failure to report can compromise patient safety, increase the risk of litigation, damage the organization’s reputation, and increase the workload of other hospital departments. Managers must address this issue to staff and create procedures which promote reporting in order to prevent future incidents.