Impaired Health Care Case Study

Impaired Healthcare Professionals: Healthcare professionals impairment is a very serious issue, it impacts their career, family, other staff, organization and patient's safety. Impairment means physical, mental or behavioral disorders that affect the ability to work. It may result from substance abuse, mental and physical health issues. Impairment can lead to medical errors. In this scenario, at University hospital, Dr. Spalding the on call trauma surgeon is an alcoholic, he was known to have a drink or two but no one had ever questioned his operating skill. When we become responsible for our colleague's behavior, things can get awkward, but it's our duty to report impaired colleagues so that they can receive appropriate care and assistance. …show more content…
In this case resident should clearly explain the patient's family, who is performing the surgery and take informed consent from them. Hospital can be sued for inadequate supervision and negligence in patient care. Supervising physicians that are not present during the patient care can be “vicariously liable” for the residents under their supervision or may be liable if it is determined that inadequate supervision was present. Hospitals and institutions that sponsor residents may be liable for resident errors as well. As a OR supervisor, Jan is responsible for protecting hospital reputation not the surgeon. She can also be sued for having knowledge about the impairment and done nothing about it. Dr. Spalding can be sued for endangering patient safety and he can also face punitive damages. Dr. Truman can be liable for battery charges in case of an error during the …show more content…
Jan must call another surgeon to supervise Dr. Truman, when the on call surgeon isn't responding and she should report to the chief of staff about Dr. Spalding's behavior and impairment. Management should evaluate the situation, find out the facts, cease the physician from patient care and arrange a meeting with the physician, share your concerns, provide support, propose him to self refer into a physician health program to get the appropriate care and assistance. If the physician rejects, report to the licensing board that the physician practices are endangering the patient safety. These decisions should be made with the assistance of counsel to assure that all options have been considered and to assess whether such approach is reasonable in light of available evidence. The Vice President should respond to the media, that we are looking into the situation and the concerned doctor has been ceased from patient services and referred to a physician health program, and we are taking steps to avoid these kind of situations in the future.
Organizational Implications: The present scenario will ruin the organization's reputation if the situation gets public. The public will question the quality of the patient care in the organization. Organization may face several lawsuits for negligent