Behavioral Health Claim Trends
Claims are consistently associated with the elopement of patients and those patients who are committed for psychiatric treatment. To mitigate risks leading to such claims, review the following educational material. This data offers webinars, educational tools and legal and regulatory requirements to care for mental health patients.
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Webinar: Claims Trends Associated with Violence and Behavioral Health
Violence in healthcare organizations and concerns over the care of behavioral health patients has been on the rise. Have you wondered if claims have resulted from such activity? LHA Trust Funds Liability Manager Mike Walsh discusses claims trends associated with violence and behavioral healthcare.
The webinar’s key objectives are to:
- Understand how an injured employee may utilize the Intention Act Exception to prove that their organization was aware of potential dangers but took no action to protect its employees.
- Recognize that sexual assault is one of the most common types of claim associated with violence/aggression. Organizations must be aware of sexual assault risks and take steps to prevent sexual assault.
- Recognize that organizations have a duty to warn people who may be in danger of harm from a patient if a person is clearly identified as being in imminent danger. Imminent danger is defined as risk of severe injury, death or psychological harm.
- Report concerning behaviors when they occur as such behaviors may be indicators of a preventable serious event.
The webinar also discusses best practices to mitigate these risks, numerous claim scenario examples and court decisions regarding healthcare organization liability.
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Webinar: Elopement of Patients Under Emergency Certificates and Commitments
Elopement of patients who are under an emergency certificate or commitment can pose significant liability for the hospital as well as put the patient and other members of the community at risk for their safety. Robert Robison, partner at Watson, Blanche, Wilson & Posner, LLP, discusses DHH regulations as they relate to elopement of these patients and other important points related to the care of patients in these situations.
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Elopement of Patients Under Emergency Certificates and Commitments Presentation
Click to view the presentation slides used in the Elopement of Patients Under Emergency Certificates and Commitments webinar.
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Limitation of Liability For Crisis Intervention Trained Staff
Hospitals are encouraged to train all staff in violence and de-escalation techniques to help defuse potentially aggressive individuals. Louisiana law offers limitation of liability for staff who utilize these techniques in good faith, but they must have documented training by an instructor certified in a formal nonviolent crisis intervention program. This document references the Louisiana statute that applies to this unique situation.
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Webinar: Legal Issues in the Emergency Department Before and After the PEC
This webinar discusses the legal and regulatory requirements for treating psych patients in the emergency department. The presenter will also provide actual case studies to illustrate both the right and wrong way to handle some of the unusual and unexpected situations that may arise.