Clinician Resources Listing

CRICO Clinical Guidelines

In conjunction with clinical experts from Harvard-affiliated health care organizations, CRICO develops and maintains evidence-based decision support tools for physicians and nurses whose patient encounters align with high-severity malpractice risks. These guidelines, algorithms, and other tools are designed and periodically updated to help clinicians identify risk prone steps in specific diagnostic or treatment processes, and suggest protocols.

Informed Consent Guidelines Overview

May 18, 2011

With broad access to more health care information than ever before, physicians must fully engage their patients in an informed decision-making process. An effective, and defensible, process of obtaining a patients consent to treatment involves a thoughtful discussion of available options (including no treatment), the relevant risks of each treatment option, and expectations for the results of treatment.

Suicide Prevention Overview

February 2, 2011

Realistically, a clinician is not always able to prevent a suicide in a determined patient. However, since 1992, CRICO has worked with experts in Psychiatry, General Medicine, and Emergency Medicine on guidelines to assist primary care and mental health professionals in their decision-making. The documents, Guidelines for Identification, Assessment, and Treatment Planning for Suicidality and Decision Support Outline Emergency/Crisis Coverage of a Suicidal Patient, address the process of identifying or managing at-risk patients in a hospital or outpatient setting, as well as collaboration issues among mental health and primary care clinicians.

Breast Care Management Algorithm

November 1, 2010

Failure to diagnose breast cancer affects CRICO-insured providers across a spectrum of specialties. To reduce the likelihood of such events, a task force of breast care specialists, coordinated by CRICO, identified the key factors contributing to allegations of mismanaged breast care and subsequently developed the CRICO Breast Care Management Algorithm.

Colorectal Cancer Screening Algorithm

November 1, 2010

Colorectal cancer is the second most common type of cancer cited in malpractice claims naming CRICO-insured physicians. To address the risk issues, CRICO convened an advisory group of primary care providers and gastroenterologists to develop a Colorectal Cancer Screening Algorithm.

Attending Notification Guideline

July 15, 2010

CRICO Surgery Algorithm and Trigger Card.

Obstetrics Guidelines

June 1, 2010

The Clinical Guidelines for the Obstetrical Services of the CRICO-insured institutions provide guidance for clinicians to support the safest maternal and fetal outcomes. These recommendations were arrived at through careful consideration of the available evidence and should be considered as thoughtful, expert advice.

Obstetrics Guidelines as Web Pages

June 1, 2010

Easily navigate the web-based version of the 34 OB guidelines and 5 appendices. The OB Guidelines PDF is also available if you want to read or print it as a whole.

Obstetrics Guidelines Introduction

April 12, 2010

The Clinical Guidelines for the Obstetrical Services of the CRICO-insured institutions are intended to provide guidance for clinicians and to support the safest maternal and fetal outcomes for patients receiving care in CRICO-insured medical institutions. The recommendations for practice included in this document were arrived at through careful consideration of the available evidence and should be considered as thoughtful, expert advice. These Guidelines offer a framework for provision of obstetrical care, rather than an inflexible set of mandates. Clinicians involved in obstetrical care must use their professional knowledge and judgment when applying the recommendations to the management of individual patients. These Guidelines are subject to revision at regular intervals as changes in clinical practice evolve.

OB Guideline 1: Documenting for Patient Safety

April 11, 2010

The medical record is a sequential record of patient care, a storage place for diagnostic test results, a communication tool for clinicians, and a legal document. CONTINUE READING >

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Also Related

CRICO Clinical Guidelines

Informed Consent Guidelines Overview

Suicide Prevention Overview

Breast Care Management Algorithm

CRICO Guidelines by Topic