Law of Unintended Consequences

Depending on your age it was Dr. Kildare, St. Elsewhere, E.R. or Grey’s Anatomy if you wanted to experience the drama of stressed out, sleep deprived medical residents.  We watched as they pulled numerous all night shifts, napped in the janitor closet and looked like hell as they made rounds and performed miracles.

To the dismay of many physician-veterans who made their bonafides the old school way, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has been revising down the number of hours a training doctor can work without a break (from 30 to 16). Surely this would increase patient safety….

Unfortunately, a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, as reported in USA Today, tells a different story.

• More patient errors due to “hand off risks” when shifts change
• Same staffing levels so residents have to do the same amount of work in less time
• No improvement in residents’ sleep patterns

The healthcare delivery system is fraught with unintended consequences from seemingly obvious and benevolent decisions:

    ……Just one more prescription

    ……Just one more surgery

    ……Just one more month off work.

We can help you minimize unintended consequences by reducing the number of days that your claimant is exposed to the hospital environment.

Call us, We can do better.

William Faris, JD
Chief Executive Officer
502-495-5040
william.faris@omca.biz
www.omca.biz