What a nursing review usually focuses on
Monitoring, medication administration, and fall prevention. A case review should reconstruct the sequence of assessment, medication administration, risk prevention, monitoring, and escalation to providers from the records available at each decision point.
Five decision points to map
- 1. Assessment
- 2. Medication administration
- 3. Risk prevention
- 4. Monitoring
- 5. Escalation to providers
Records that can answer those questions
- Nursing consultation, procedure, or encounter notes
- Orders and test results used to make the clinical decision
- Medication, monitoring, procedure, or nursing records tied to the event
- Communication with the patient and other specialties
- Later treatment showing the complication, corrected diagnosis, or outcome
Expert and causation questions
- What training and specialty should the reviewing nursing expert have under state law?
- Which of the key decision points in monitoring, medication administration, and fall prevention is actually being challenged?
- What information was available at that time, not only in hindsight?
- What part of the later harm is attributable to the underlying illness or known risk?
- Would a different medical decision probably have changed treatment or outcome?
Related specialties
Obstetrics Malpractice GuideObstetrics malpractice questions often require specialty-specific records and expert review.Oncology Malpractice GuideOncology malpractice questions often require specialty-specific records and expert review.Orthopedics Malpractice GuideOrthopedics malpractice questions often require specialty-specific records and expert review.Pathology Malpractice GuidePathology malpractice questions often require specialty-specific records and expert review.
Use licensing, records, and medical-information sources appropriate to the specialty.