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Patient activation has a significant effect on a patient’s management of chronic disease.¹ Various studies indicate that promoting discussion and problem solving to help chronic disease patients make informed self-management choices on an ongoing basis increases activation and improves outcomes.²

The ability of patients to comply with discharge instructions is related to their activation level. Research indicates that identifying and intervening on behalf of patients with low activation levels could reduce their risk of an unplanned rehospitalization.¹

The informed consent process is an excellent time to engage patients. Ideally, an informed consent to treatment is the end result of a shared decision making process between a clinician and patient. This process, when executed appropriately, can have many benefits. It can decrease liability exposure, increase patient adherence, protect the patient’s right to self-determination and increase patient satisfaction.¹

Although physician empathy may seem to be a low priority in comparison to clinical skill, research indicates that physician empathy has wide-ranging effects for both physicians and patients, including better patient outcomes, greater patient satisfaction, less stress and burnout, and — as the following case studies show — it can affect whether a patient files a medical liability lawsuit.

A common scenario in email security breaches is seen when a billing service sends a bill to an incorrect email address. In most practice arrangements, a third-party billing company will have signed a business associate agreement. According to HIPAA, business associates must inform covered entities when they discover a security breach; however, HHS gives covered entities and business associates flexibility in defining, in the business associate agreements, how and when a business associate should notify the covered entity of a potential breach.¹ Consider the following case. (Please note that the following case focuses on the clinic’s responsibility to analyze the risk and perform the breach notification, even though the breach was caused by a business entity.)