Weill Cornell Medical College

For Physicians

Malpractice Information

NEW! MCIC on Patient Safety - The MCIC Patient Safety Web Site is an evolving resource center designed to support clinicians and staff at member institutions in their patient safety efforts. This site is intended to serve as a central location for sharing best practices and storing key references for patient safety. Also: The site contains the video The Human Factor: Effective Teamwork and Communications.

MCIC is pleased to provide continuing education programs in patient safety to clinicians at its member hospitals. These programs are intended to expand your knowledge of patient safety and reduce your risk of professional liability. A successful completion will grant CME credit hours. In order to register for these programs you will need a subscription code which can be obtained from the residency director, the OB safety nurse, the quality department, Risk Management & Insurance or by sending a request to subscriptioncode@mcicvermont.com.

CRICO/RMF: Harvard Patient Safety and Medical Malpractice - CRICO/RMFs' goal is to assist providers and institutions in their goal of delivering the safest health care in the world. CRICO/RMF offers three decades of experience as a trusted partner to the Harvard medical community, and more than 25 years of claims-based data as resources. This site offers claims information from high risk areas, various patient safety strategies, extensive case studies and education/intervention resources. Some of the available education/intervention resources include films, articles, podcasts, research resources and continuing education programs.

New York Presbyterian Risk Management - Outlines the New York Department of Health occurrence reporting requirements for medical practitioners. The New York State Department of Health (DOH) requires hospitals to report certain events within 24 hours of occurrence. This site links to the 2005 NYPORTS Manual which includes the list of events that are reportable as well as those that are not-reportable, and to the secure site for the New York Patient Occurrence Reporting and Tracking System (NYPORTS).

New York State Department of Health Office of Professional Medical Conduct

Event Reporting

Executive Portal [NYP Infonet] - Register to use the Executive Portal, New York Presbyterian Infonet for the hospital of Cornell and Columbia universities.

MERS-TH - Report an Event - The Medical Event Reporting System for the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Network

FDA's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience Database - (MAUDE)

FDA's MedWatch - Medical Products Reporting and Safety Information Program

Risk Mitigation

VHA Safety - The National Center for Patient Safety was established in 1999 to develop and nurture a culture of safety throughout the Veterans Health Administration. The goal of the NCPS is the nationwide reduction and prevention of inadvertent harm to patients as a result of their care. Included are a Patient Safety for Patients section, recent publications, and a newsroom. The cultural change section stresses the need for increased prevention as opposed to punishment with respect to patient safety, accidents, and adverse effects.

JENY: The Health Care Quality Improvement Community - A free electronic community which enables its members to post topics, communicate privately with other members, respond to polls, upload content and access various special features.

MERS-TH - Report an Event - The Medical Event Reporting System for the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Network

Joint Commission 2008 National Patient Safety Goals

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - Improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.

AHRQ Safety Tool Kit

AHRQ Patient Safety Network (PSNet)

AHRQ WebM&M: Morbidity & Mortality Rounds on the Web

Quality Measures for 2008 PQRI

Cornell Surgery for Professionals

AMA Quality and Patient Safety links

For Patients

WCMC Physicians' Organization - Access Weill Cornell physicians, clinical services, health information, the latest news from Weill Cornell Medical College and practical information regarding the preparation of an upcoming visit.

Cornell Surgery for Patients - The Department of Surgery of Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is internationally recognized for outstanding and innovative surgical expertise. We have seven divisions: Critical Care and Trauma, General Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Dentistry, Pediatric Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Transplantation Surgery, and Vascular Surgery. There are also seven sections within General Surgery: Breast Surgery, Burn Surgery, Colon and Rectal Surgery, Endocrine Surgery, Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery, Laparoscopy and Bariatric Surgery, and Surgical Oncology. We provide our patients with the highest quality, most compassionate care, utilizing state-of-the-art, minimally invasive technologies and techniques to achieve the most successful surgical outcomes.

NEW! Learn About Your Procedure Beforehand - At NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, we consider you a vital part of your healthcare team. Our doctors and staff want to assist you to partner in your care and that's why we have Emmi®. Emmi is a Web-based educational program for you to view prior to an upcoming medical or surgical procedure to better manage a health condition. Each program takes about 20 minutes and can be viewed as many times as you like. In fact, we encourage you to share the program with family or friends whom you consider part of your health team.

Medline Plus - For Patients MedlinePlus will direct you to information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. Preformulated MEDLINE searches are included in MedlinePlus and give easy access to medical journal articles. MedlinePlus also has extensive information about drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and latest health news.

20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors in Children - For Patients This is a fact sheet by AHRQ for parents to help their children and avoid medical error. Most errors result from problems created by today's complex health care system. But errors also happen when doctors and their patients have problems communicating. For example, a study supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that doctors often do not do enough to help their patients make informed decisions. Uninvolved and uninformed patients are less likely to accept the doctor's choice of treatment and less likely to do what they need to do to make the treatment work.

For Students and Residents

AHRQ WebM&M: Morbidity & Mortality Rounds on the Web

NYP Graduate Medical Education

TeamSTEPPS Videos - The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) have developed TeamSTEPPS, a teamwork system which offers a powerful solution to improving collaboration and communication within an institution. Teamwork has been found to be one of the key initiatives within patient safety that can transform the culture within healthcare.

New England Journal - Videos on procedures

NEW! MCIC on Patient Safety - The MCIC Patient Safety Web Site is an evolving resource center designed to support clinicians and staff at member institutions in their patient safety efforts. This site is intended to serve as a central location for sharing best practices and storing key references for patient safety. Also: The site contains the video The Human Factor: Effective Teamwork and Communications.

MCIC is pleased to provide continuing education programs in patient safety to clinicians at its member hospitals. These programs are intended to expand your knowledge of patient safety and reduce your risk of professional liability. A successful completion will grant CME credit hours. In order to register for these programs you will need a subscription code which can be obtained from the residency director, the OB safety nurse, the quality department, Risk Management & Insurance or by sending a request to subscriptioncode@mcicvermont.com.

MERS-TH - Report an Event - The Medical Event Reporting System for the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Network

Cornell Surgery for Professionals

QPS: Quality Care Professionals

QPS Wiki - Access Required.

NEW! NYP Patient Safety Fridays - NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital strives to be a national leader in Patient Safety in order to provide our patients and their families with a safe, reliable environment of care and service each and every day. To facilitate this goal, they are committed to adopting and implementing the National Patient Safety Goals and maintaining a constant state of preparedness for every patient. Because these goals are so critical, the Hospital is implementing a significant change in the 2008 schedule. Beginning Friday, January 11, 2008, all Fridays will be set aside as Patient Safety Days across NewYork-Presbyterian.

CMS PQRI: Physician Quality Reporting Initiative - An overview of the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) for 2008 including the Statutes/Regulations/Program instructions; identification of eligible professionals; measures and codes; reporting, analysis, and payment information; and educational resources. Information pertaining to financial incentives earned for 2008 is included.

HRC Alerts by the Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) - Emergency Care Research Institute offers a clearinghouse of current topical information relating to patient safety and risk management resources.

Root Cause Analysis [PPT] - This power point presentation provides a teachable opportunity to create systems thinking and explains the benefits and common pitfalls of critical safety analysis. Root Cause Analysis, a derivative of Failure Mode Effect Analysis, is a tool in the systems approach to prevention of adverse events. The cornerstone tenet of RCA is that "no one comes to work to make a mistake or to hurt someone". A Safety Assessment Code (SAC) scoring key is also provided in this PPT.

NIH Risk Management - The National Institutes of Health operates with a mission to improve the health of the Nation by conducting and supporting scientific research. As a steward of public funds NIH is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective risk management and financial management systems that meet the objectives of the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) and OMB Circular No. A-123, Management's Responsibility for Internal Control.

VHA Safety - The National Center for Patient Safety was established in 1999 to develop and nurture a culture of safety throughout the Veterans Health Administration. The goal of the NCPS is the nationwide reduction and prevention of inadvertent harm to patients as a result of their care. Included are a Patient Safety for Patients section, recent publications, and a newsroom. The cultural change section stresses the need for increased prevention as opposed to punishment with respect to patient safety, accidents, and adverse effects.

Ambulatory Quality Association

National Quality forum

AMA Quality and Patient Safety links

Cornell Surgery for Professionals

For Researchers

Research Compliance from the Office of Research & Sponsored Porgrams - The ORC is dedicated to ensuring that the WCMC faculty and staff understand their responsibilities in conducting research activities according to compliance laws and regulations.

NIH - NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. Its mission is science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.