On April 18, 2018, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently cited Kingwood Medical Center, located at 22999 Highway 59, Kingwood, TX 77325, with four violations over quality of care concerns. This brings the hospital’s tally to 13 violations since November 2012.
As a Houston, Texas, medical malpractice lawyer, I have represented numerous clients in cases and lawsuits involving care provided at Kingwood Medical Center. For a free consultation about your potential case, call Painter Law Firm, in Houston, Texas, at 281-580-8800.
The first violation dealt with the failure to protect a patient’s right to be free from abuse and harassment. A man was brought to the emergency room after experiencing a fall. He had previously had both legs amputated below the knee and was unable to get up from the fall for two days. Unfortunately, his family members were not interested in helping care for him. The Medicare/Medicaid surveyor was critical of the hospital for not immediately notifying Adult Protective Services to get the patient the help he needed upon discharge.
The Medicare/Medicaid surveyor cited the hospital with a second violation over the same patient and facts because the hospital failed to perform an appropriate discharge evaluation for this man. A third violation over the same patient found that the hospital violated its own policy on discharge planning, which requires the patient’s primary nurse and a case manager or social worker to assess the patient’s discharge needs within 24 hours of admission.
The fourth violation found that Kingwood Medical Center physicians did not follow the hospital’s medical staff bylaws and policy on timely medical record documentation of history and physicals upon admission and discharge summaries upon discharge.
As a former hospital administrator, I realize that this documentation is an important part of providing safe healthcare because it provides a baseline of the patient’s health status that can help guide other healthcare providers.
The hospital’s medical staff bylaws require physicians to document in the patient’s medical record a complete history and comprehensive physical examination within 24 hours of admission. Within 30 days of a patient’s discharge, the medical staff bylaws require doctors to write in the patient’s medical record a summary of the reason for the hospitalization, significant findings, procedures formed, and treatments rendered.
Despite these clear requirements, the Medicare/Medicaid surveyors found that five out of five patient charts reviewed were missing one of these documents.
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If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or even died because of poor hospital care, then the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Painter Law Firm, in Houston, Texas, are here to help. Click here to send us a confidential email via our “Contact Us” form or call us at 281-580-8800.
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Robert Painter is a medical malpractice attorney at Painter Law Firm PLLC, in Houston, Texas. He is a former hospital administrator who represents patients and family members in medical negligence and wrongful death lawsuits against hospitals, physicians, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other healthcare providers. A member of the board of directors of the Houston Bar Association, he was honored, in 2018, by H Texas as one of Houston’s top lawyers. Also, in 2018, the Better Business Bureau recognized Painter Law Firm PLLC with its Award of Distinction.
