Anybody can bring on a lawsuit and sue another person for any reason. Losing a malpractice lawsuit is frequently due to some type of negligence by the healthcare facility and their staff. The best means to avoid negligence is to make certain that you obtain as much training and understanding as you can. Once more anyone can take legal action against another person, so these ideas will certainly not make you exempt from a possible lawsuit, but will certainly help you concentrate on areas that you may have to enhance. Always keep in mind that the patients safety is top priority and must always be put above everything else.
Here is the Top 7 Ways to Help Avoid Phlebotomy Malpractice
1. Always Acquire Informed Consent. Prior to collecting any sample from a patient (for minors you need to get permission from their parent / legal guardian) you must confirm that the patient has given informed consent.
2. Know and Understand HIPPA. A patients right to privacy is an extremely serious matter. You or your employer can be fined approximately $50,000 per infraction and as much as $1.5 million/year for multiple violations. Take as long as it takes to review HIPAA and comprehend it. Do not let laziness put your profession or your companies at risk.
3. Make Safety A Priority. Do not cut corners and always make use of appropriate safety containers and NEVER re-use needles or re-use devices that are not sterile. Use the motto “when in doubt, toss it out.” Make certain you are disposing of contents in the proper waste/safety/hazardous containers.
4. Always Follow Protocol. Procedures have been put in place for a reason. A lot of clinical facilities have stringent policies because they wish to ensure patient safety and want to prevent potential liability at all costs. Report violators to your superiors. Never let anything get in the way of patient security. PATIENT SAFETY IS TOP PRIORITY.
5. Pay attention to Your Patients. Numerous claims involving phlebotomists include, at least in part, the phlebotomy technician not listening to the concerns of a patient. Many cases involve a patient that alerts the phlebotomy technician that they were in pain and the phlebotomists disregarded the warning and continued to draw blood resulting in long-term damage to the patients arm (commonly nerve damage). Another scenario that occurs is when patients express their stress and anxiety and issues concerning the procedure to the phlebotomist, who then proceeds to neglect these concerns, and continues the negligent actions by not offering the client a seat or bed afterwards, resulting in injury. Do not let time constraints lead to carelessness. Take a few extra minutes to collect yourself and ensure no mistakes are made. Mistakes not only put your patients at risk but put your job at risk as well.
6. Be Kind and Courteous. This is an excellent general rule for each interaction you have with another human. Do not limit kindness and courtesy to just the work environment, however rather you ought to work on exercising these traits outside of work. The reality of the matter is if the patient likes you and has a favorable experience with you, that patient is less inclined to bring harm to you with a lawsuit. So be kind to everybody. Some patients make it much easier than others. The difficult ones just require more patience and understanding. Try to provide them the benefit of the doubt. There are a great deal of fantastic people who simply are having an awful day at the time you both happen to cross paths. All of us have bad experiences in life, like losing a loved one, losing your job, or just having a horribly bad day at work / home. Understand that these patients could be dealing with something that is affecting their state of mind and on the flip side attempt your best to not let your own troubles conflict with your work. Make it your objective to give the patient a great experience by offering an abundance of kindness and compassion.
7. Stay Educated and Master Your Training. Mahatma Ghandi once said “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” You should never stop learning. Even if you have been a phlebotomy technician for many years, you should always try to brush up and perfect your craft. Things are constantly changing in the healthcare industry. If it isn’t a new technique, it may be changes in HIPAA, changes in sterilization and disinfecting techniques, the possibilities are endless.Ensure that you are not making use of obsoleted details or that you could have inadvertently acquired a bad habit that could be a violation and put you at danger for future liability. You can always learn more and can always improve. It was Albert Einstein who said “Once you stop learning, you start dying.” So keep learning.
