CMS Discovers "Failures" at Parkland Memorial After Snap Investigation

CMS officials have found several patient safety failures at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, according to a Houston Chronicle news report.

The federal agency performed a "snap inspection" of the hospital after news reports surfaced regarding a patient whose knee replacement surgery led to infection, amputation and nearly $1 million in Medicaid bills, according to the news report.

CMS' inspection revealed the teaching hospital had no established policy for faculty supervision of residents in 2008. Previous news reports also showed surgical residents receive much less faculty supervision compared to other teaching hospitals.

According to the news report, a patient named Jessie Mae Ned underwent a knee replacement surgery by a resident who had been out of medical school for approximately one year. The resident and another medical school student monitored Ms. Ned's post-operative recovery for the first 72 hours but missed a rare surgical injury that later necessitated an amputation. According to hospital records, a faculty surgeon was present at the surgery but was not involved in the 72-hour postop monitoring.

A federal inspector's report in January also cited other deficiencies, including incomplete medical records and the hospital's failure to identify a medical error until after a news agency investigation into the hospital. Hospital officials responded to the recent news reports and federal investigation with new requirements for faculty supervision and patient record documentation.

Read the news report about the CMS investigation at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Related Articles on Hospital Quality:
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CMS Seeks Comment on Medication-Related Quality Measures

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