Healthcare Risk Management Quotes Cynthia Robinson on Discovery
In an article published by Healthcare Risk Management, health care litigation attorney Cynthia Robinson discussed peer review exceptions, audit trails and provider access relating to medical malpractice actions.
Cynthia explained that while there is an understanding of patients’ records being discoverable, many risk managers overlook audit trails and logs as also being discoverable. Statements the named defendant has written for quality assurance, peer review or morbidity and mortality conferences are discoverable as well.
She added that technological advancements have also led to updates and changes to discovery. “Electronic medical records [EMRs] have increased the speed and ease with which medical providers can document their treatment, review a patient’s history, and enter orders for various treatments,” Cynthia says. She believes this change is better for the defense because they no longer have to decipher handwritten notes.
EMRs also show the complete audit trail though. She explained how they now see when an entry was made, when it was altered, and when it was saved. She stressed the importance for defendants to not open a patient’s record after the commencement of a lawsuit. Doing so will open the door to questions of attempting to falsify records. “Whether that is the case or not, it is a favorite of plaintiff’s attorneys to point out that on the day the provider was served with the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s medical records show, from the audit trail, that the provider looked over all of the records,” she notes.
For more specifics regarding the discovery rules and limits to protect confidential information and to read the full article click here.
A leading health care litigator, Cynthia Robinson defends doctors, nurses, hospitals and other healthcare providers in high-stakes medical malpractice litigation from case inception to trial. For the entirety of her career, Cynthia has focused her practice exclusively on medical malpractice defense. She listens to her clients; she anticipates and avoids future potential risk; and she identifies not only the best legal arguments but the best way those should be made based upon the circumstances and parties involved. To learn more about Cynthia, please click here.