Healthcare Risk Management: Jason Hendren on Securing Evidence After Adverse Events

In an article published on November 1, 2023 in Healthcare Risk Management, Rogers Partner Jason Hendren provides insight into steps health care organizations should take after an adverse event.

Jason explains preventing changes to the medical record is one of the most critical first steps. “You can’t have doctors, nurses, or anybody else jumping in there once they become aware that there’s been a problem. Physicians are very concerned any time a patient has a complication, and their gut reaction is to go back and see if they missed anything, or what they said about some issue,” he said. “They may not mess with the chart or change anything, but the plaintiff’s lawyer will make it sound like they felt guilty, they wanted to go back in, and they might have been tempted to add or subtract or do something else.”

For issues involving codes and other emergency situations, Jason advises clients to keep all of their notes, even the ones on scratch paper or other materials. “Sometimes, that stuff is just thrown in the trash, and there have been occasions where we all would have really liked to have seen that because what actually gets into the chart isn’t totally accurate or complete,” he explains.

You can read the full article on the Healthcare Risk Management website.