Liability Issues in Healthcare Systems Essay

Introduction

The main healthcare facility liability issues are malpractice suits and employee safety. Malpractice issues are very common in healthcare because of their subjective decision-making nature (Klemann et al., 2022).

Discussion

When a patient or a family’s patient feels negligence in offering services, they are likely to file for lawsuits. Some common malpractices are birth injuries and surgical, medication, and anesthesia errors. The other liability concerns employee safety, which is based on their work environment; the protective gear and safety measures are taken to safeguard them at the workplace (Klemann et al., 2022). These are the most serious because they have costly they have very hefty fines if they are breached. The main strategy to avoid malpractice suits is policies and procedures. Each hospital has set aside its policies and procedures, which it expects the patients and healthcare providers to follow (Shrank et al., 2021). For instance, during COVID-19, healthcare providers and patients had to wash their hands and have masks. Other policies may include surgeries and other medical procedures, and a checklist exists. The other strategy is ensuring good communication between the professionals and the patients (Shrank et al., 2021). When there is clear communication, the risk of having various liabilities such as lawsuits, is low.

Conclusion

The final strategy is ensuring that the facility has all the resources needed for quality care. These include safety gear for the employees, employee protection, and the right tools for the employees to use. This helps reduce the issue of employee safety and increases the quality of their work.

References

Klemann, D., Mertens, H., & van Merode, F. (2022). Trends and developments in medical liability claims in the Netherlands. Healthcare, 10(10), 1929. Web.

Shrank, W. H., DeParle, N.-A., Gottlieb, S., Jain, S. H., Orszag, P., Powers, B. W., & Wilensky, G. R. (2021). Health costs and financing: Challenges and strategies for a new administration. Health Affairs, 40(2), 235–242. Web.