Raise Your Right Hand: Role of Infection Prevention in Healthcare Litigation

Session Description: The best offense is a good defense is a common saying in sports. The same phrase can be applied to the role of infection preventionist (IP) in responding to litigation. Practicing defensive medicine is discussed extensively in the literature related to providers and litigation, but the role of defensive medicine practices is not well recognized for infection prevention related risks. Litigation remains a common risk for healthcare systems across the United States and the associated costs continue to increase. In addition to the financial cost, there is also the brand integrity cost to organizations that must be considered. Adverse patient outcomes/errors, including healthcare associated infections, are a leading reason that patients seek legal recourse. However, preparing for and responding to litigation isn’t a standard part of infection prevention (IP) training. With litigation rising in both cost and frequency, now is the time to prepare the IP workforce for responding.

This session will review and introduce common types of litigation situations that infection preventionists may encounter including discovery (both request for production and request for admission), deposition, and arbitration hearings. It will focus on work that can be done prior to litigation that can lessen the burden on an IP program when litigation occurs, protecting IP data from discoverability, and how to prepare to be a witness should it come to that. It will include specific examples from the presenter’s experience and from relevant court cases.