Within Normal Limits: Navigating Medical Risks

COPIC, Eric Zacharias MD
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Within Normal Limits: Navigating Medical Risks Podcast

Within Normal Limits provides physicians and medical professionals with unfiltered insights that focus on pitfalls to avoid in medicine and best practices to improve patient care. Hosted by Eric Zacharias, MD, an internal medicine doctor and physician risk manager with COPIC, a leading medical liability insurance company, this podcast centers around open conversations between physicians and medical experts. Each episode dives into topics including practical guidance, detailed analysis, current issues, and case study reviews. Within Normal Limits is an opportunity to learn from others’ experience and gain knowledge that may help you be a better medical provider and deliver the best patient care possible.

  1. SEPT 13

    Understanding How and When EMTALA Applies

    Amy Herum, a nurse and patient safety and risk manager with Copic, joins us to talk about the purpose and scope of EMTALA. Amy explains the situations that trigger EMTALA obligations and the definition and assessment of an “emergency medical condition.” The discussion then looks at the requirements and process of transferring a patient under EMTALA, the penalties and consequences of violating EMTALA, and the conditions that end EMTALA obligations such as when a medical screening exam shows no emergency medical condition, the patient is transferred to another hospital in compliance, or when the patient refuses examination, treatment, or transfer and signs an informed refusal or against medical advice form.

    18 min

  2. AUG 22

    Key Considerations Before Terminating a Patient

    Our guest is Anna Barr, a patient safety and risk manager with Copic, who joins us to talk about terminating the provider-patient relationship. The discussion starts by looking at the main considerations before terminating a patient: trying to mend the relationship by using effective communication and conflict resolution skills, assessing the clinical situation, the risk of abandonment, the possibility of discrimination, and the contractual obligations that may apply. Anna then highlights key termination steps such as notifying and assisting the patient, and documentation. She also talks about the benefits of having a practice-wide policy for non-compliance or disruptive behavior that can help prevent situations that may lead to termination.

    23 min

  3. AUG 3

    Managing Risks in the Perioperative Setting

    This episode features Renee Blattman, a nurse and risk manager with Copic, who has 20 years of experience in the perioperative environment. The discussion focuses on the challenges and risks in this environment—a high-paced, high-volume, and fast-turnover setting, where there is a lot of pressure to keep the patients moving and the OR schedule tight. Renee talks about the growth and trends in ambulatory surgery centers along with the increased risks of discharge and follow-up care, as patients may need more education and support at home. In addition, she highlights how a culture of safety is essential and how this includes being proactive, collaborative, and mindful as a team.

    30 min

  4. JUL 11

    Documentation—The Little Things That Make a Big Difference

    In this episode, our guest is Heather Westermeyer, a Patient Safety and Risk Manager with COPIC, and the topic is documentation. Heather highlights the role documentation plays in continuity of care—from ensuring an accurate medical history to supporting communication among providers. She also talks about how documentation serves a key purpose in legal protection/defense in medical liability issues and the importance of articulating your thought process. In addition, the discussion touches on best practices, standardized templates and protocols, and the dangers of copying and pasting.

    30 min

  5. JUN 20

    Caring for Geriatric Patients

    LaDonna Kelley, a nurse risk manager with COPIC, is the guest for this episode, which looks at patient safety and risk management for geriatric patients. LaDonna tells a personal story about the challenges with caring for this patient population and how certain situational factors impact their care experience. She mentions issues such as hearing limitations, technology, and mobility and being aware of these during interactions. The conversation also examines communication challenges and the importance of clear communication with geriatric patients.

    21 min

  6. JUN 6

    Just Culture—A Framework that Promotes Patient Safety

    In this episode, we talk with Carrie Beth Roddy, a COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, who joins Dr. Zacharias for a conversation on Just Culture. Carrie starts with defining the concept of Just Culture, explaining how it is being integrated into traditional medical culture, and the importance of using it to create opportunities to prevent future medical errors. We dig into the difference between human and system errors, factors that contribute to Just Culture’s success, how it facilitates more open discussions among providers while ensuring the highest level of safe treatment for patients, and ways that it supports meaningful interactions in the healthcare workplace.

    32 min

  7. MAY 9

    Documentation—Telling the Story of Patient Care

    This episode features COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, Amanda Heinrichs, who discusses the importance of documentation—from sharing patient information with other medical team members to supporting care decisions. Amanda covers a wide breadth of documentation issues, such as limiting documentation to only facts about the case, moving past finger-pointing in the event of an undesirable outcome, and timely documentation to ensure quality of care. Furthermore, she talks about insights from attorneys, the pros and cons of using scribes, and conducting assessments to evaluate what is going on with patients to support your documentation.

    30 min

  8. APR 25

    Retaining and Maintaining Medical Records

    COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager Cindy Walsh is our guest to set the record straight on medical records retention—giving us insight into ethical obligations, key considerations when referring patients or closing a practice, and the importance of having a clear records maintenance/retention policy. Furthermore, Cindy outlines how regular record audits and attention to state mandates now can prevent retention headaches in the future.

    23 min
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About

Within Normal Limits provides physicians and medical professionals with unfiltered insights that focus on pitfalls to avoid in medicine and best practices to improve patient care. Hosted by Eric Zacharias, MD, an internal medicine doctor and physician risk manager with COPIC, a leading medical liability insurance company, this podcast centers around open conversations between physicians and medical experts. Each episode dives into topics including practical guidance, detailed analysis, current issues, and case study reviews. Within Normal Limits is an opportunity to learn from others’ experience and gain knowledge that may help you be a better medical provider and deliver the best patient care possible.

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