Other Useful NetLinks Handbook Contents Introduction Risk management Insurance program Legal system Medical records Incident reporting Physician-patient Informed consent Infectious disease Confidentiality Patient's rights Risk Home Page

Introduction Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale School of Medicine comprise one of the preeminent medical centers in the nation. The institutions undertake to train medical professionals, advance medical science and improve the delivery of health care. In addition, the hospital is committed to providing the best quality of care possible, as well as the continuous assessment and improvement of the quality of care and services rendered to our patients. The risk management program at the hospital plays a crucial role in fulfilling these commitments. The goals of the overall risk management program are to identify areas of actual or potential risk, prevent, as much as possible, injuries to patients, visitors and employees, and to prevent or limit financial loss to the hospital and its staff. Financial loss can occur in a number of ways. From a risk management perspective, the primary concerns are those financial losses associated with the inherent risks that exist in providing health care services, which can result in a patient instituting a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit against the hospital and/or a health care provider. The key element in the success of the risk management program in preventing and reducing these particular claims and associated financial losses, is the participation of physicians, nurses, other health care providers and hospital employees in implementing effective risk management strategies. Each individual must be committed to reducing risks. The purpose of this handbook is two-fold: 1) to provide information that addresses a number of the medical-legal and risk management issues encountered by physicians and other health care providers; and 2) to serve as an easily referenced resource for such information, supplementing additional information also contained in some of the hospital's administrative policy and procedure manuals. The intent in highlighting these issues is to make all health care providers more aware of important opportunities they have to reduce the risks of injury to patients and others, reduce the risks of financial loss to the hospital and staff, and improve the quality of care. Since these issues and related procedures may change over time, the hospital intends to periodically update this handbook.