Litigating medical malpractice cases in the 21st century is more complicated than ever with the rise of electronic health records (EHR). Attorneys must sift through thousands of pages of records and reams of other evidence to get to the bottom of what happened, who was responsible, and whether there is a viable malpractice case. And they need the services of qualified medical experts to make sense of what’s happening.
Two specific sources of information deserve a closer look: hospital policies and audit logs.
The role of hospital policies in medical malpractice litigation
Hospital policies, at least in principle, are meant to ensure high-quality care, protect patients’ rights, and minimize communication errors in medical settings. In medical malpractice litigation, a hospital’s failure to follow its own policies can be evidence of negligence. While hospital policies are not necessarily the same as the standard of care, in practice, it is difficult for a hospital defendant to argue against its own policy.
Conversely, a hospital—or a doctor, or other medical professional working at a hospital—may use compliance with hospital policy to argue that they met standards of care. Again, the hospital’s policy isn’t always the same as the standard of care, but this can still be powerful evidence.
Evidence produced in compliance with hospital policies, such as training records and compliance monitoring data, can also play a significant role in a malpractice lawsuit. Uncovering this information through discovery is important for plaintiff’s attorneys.
How hospital audit logs can help establish medical negligence
An audit log is essentially a record of who accessed a patient’s records, when, and what changes were made. For medical malpractice attorneys, audit logs can be invaluable. For instance, the audit log might reveal:
- Whether a patient’s treatment and symptoms were documented contemporaneously or after the fact.
- Whether records were updated by the physician treating the patient or another hospital staff member.
- Whether records were modified or deleted after the fact.
- Whether medical professionals received any prompts or warnings within their medical records system.
Again, audit logs are an essential part of building a case from the plaintiff’s perspective. Attorneys can use this information to piece together what happened, minute by minute, and identify lines of questioning for depositions. Likewise, defense attorneys need to know what’s in the audit log so they can prepare for depositions and construct their own narrative of what happened.
The role of medical expert witnesses in understanding hospital policies and audit logs
While hospital data is an important part of building a medical malpractice case, you also need the right experts to interpret that information and offer their opinions on what it means. Hospitalists are well-qualified to offer their opinions on hospital policies and standards of care from a medical perspective.
Likewise, nurses and hospital administrators may have extensive experience with electronic health records and can interpret this critical information for a jury. Experts can also work with attorneys during the discovery process to help them understand what questions to ask, what documents to request, and what to follow up on during depositions and, if necessary, at trial.
For decades, we’ve been providing the best in medicine to assist the legal community. If you are working on a medical malpractice case involving hospital negligence, contact Rieback Medical-Legal Consultants today to find your expert.