In a tight economy, some medical facilities' lack of resources is leading to gaps in patient care. This is the case for Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, a "cash-strapped" medical practice in Brownsville, Brooklyn, that has been named as the defendant in more than 100 malpractice lawsuits, reports the New York Daily News.
In an era where healthcare technology is improving the quality of care afforded to patients, the article reports that multiple suits allege that Brookdale's negligence led to avoidable patient deaths.
The article goes on to report an additional claim that the hospital's inaction regarding a puncture injury suffered by a diabetic patient led the wound to become so infected that it went beyond the realm of normal treatment, and could only be addressed by amputating the patient's toes. Additionally, in another inexplicable case of negligence, the hospital reportedly provided penicillin to a patient wearing a bracelet that clearly stated an allergy to the medication.
"When a hospital is so unsafe, it costs the hospital a tremendous amount of money," said Joanne Doroshow of Center for Justice and Democracy at New York Law School in the article. "There are proven ways to clean up your act, patient safety improvements that are well-known. It is pure negligence not to do them."
Considering the massive financial sanctions that will likely be handed down to Brookdale, facility managers looking to avoid similar patient malpractice claims would benefit from updating their digital metrics with the assistance of a medical technology consulting company.
By implementing a software suite that includes electronic medical records, billing and eprescribing products, a medical tech company can help facility managers qualify for large federal grant incentives that would provide the resources needed to avoid the kind of glaring medical errors from which Brookdale is suffering.