Risk management is a hospital program organized to prevent the ...

[imowrer]

Risk management is a hospital program organized to prevent the incidences of preventable acci-dents, injuries, and errors. Which of the following situations would a hospital risk manager need to investigate?
 
  a. A patient breaks his wrist from a fall caused by a wet floor.
  b. A patient receives a dose of subcutaneous heparin 1 hour later than scheduled.
  c. A patient who is NPO is not given her morning medications.
  d. A patient who is allergic to shellfish is given preprocedure medications to reduce his risk for allergic reaction to the dye be-ing used in the procedure.
  c

Question 2

A sentinel event is usually one that results in an unexpected outcome for the patient and signals the need for investigation and response. Which of the following would be considered a sentinel event?
 
  a. A patient with a brain tumor who falls and breaks his wrist after trying to get up by himself
  b. A 32-year-old woman with no significant health history who dies in the operating room during an elective surgical procedure
  c. A patient who self-extubates after cardiac surgery
  d. A patient who is given the wrong bolus of heparin that is corrected with the first prothrombin time

[livaneabi]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
This is a preventable accident and injury and would be reviewed by the risk management department. The other situations do not apply for review by risk management.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
The patient in option B died unexpectedly without apparent cause. Unexpected death or loss of limb or function did not occur.