Practice of Medicine
article
Reducing the Risks of Pediatric Pneumonia
Pediatric pneumonia accounts for 5% of medical malpractice claims among pediatricians insured by MagMutual. Pneumonia causes significant morbidity in children and remains one of the most common serious infections of childhood. Pneumonia can occur at any age, but is more common in younger children, accounting for 13% of all infectious illnesses in infants younger than 2 years of age.1
To help pediatricians reduce that number, MagMutual’s medical faculty and risk consultants have analyzed our claims data, determined the main causes of claims related to pneumonia and developed strategies to improve patient outcomes.
Top Risks
The main causes of claims related to pediatric pneumonia are:
- Patient monitoring problems
- Medication errors
Top Strategies for Reduction
Based on these top risk drivers, implementing the following clinical and operational strategies can help you prevent unexpected outcomes and increase defensibility of a medical malpractice claim:
Clinical strategies
- Consider pneumonia in any child with fever over 72 hours, with elevated respiratory rate and/or oxygen saturation below 95%.
- Don’t exclude diagnosis based on a normal lung exam or a positive viral test, especially in children 2 years old or younger.
- Consider initiating empiric antibiotic coverage and obtaining a chest X-ray when the diagnosis is suspected.
Operational strategies
- Document vital signs, including pulse oximetry, general appearance and physical exam and, especially, a detailed lung exam. Document interpretation of any abnormal vital signs and physical exam findings, as well as any laboratory or radiographic evaluations.
Other Top Risks
Though pneumonia accounts for a sizable portion of claims among pediatricians according to our data, we’ve identified several other drivers of loss based on claims frequency:
Risk Drivers by Top Cause
| Key Loss Driver | Top Clinical Loss Cause | Top Non-Clinical Contributing Factor | % of Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| (A) Cardiomyopathy | Diagnostic | Documentation | 7% |
| (B) Meningitis | Diagnostic | Documentation | 5% |
| (C) Hyperbilirubinemia | Diagnostic | Communication | 5% |
| (D) Pneumonia | Treatment | Documentation | 5% |
| (E) Hypoglycemia | Treatment | Clinical Systems | 4% |
| (F) Septic joint /osteomyelitis | Diagnostic | Communication | 2% |
Risk Drivers by Frequency
Download the full report with indemnity payment information and strategies for all the key loss drivers to help you reduce risk in the top areas that claims occur.
MagMutual PolicyOwners: Log in for access
Not a policyholder? Download Here
Data Collection & Methodology
Data is based on MagMutual closed claims from 2011-2021 and corresponding exposure data. Clinical and non-clinical loss drivers are based on an in-depth review of each claim by a medical professional or clinical risk consultant. Risk reduction strategies are based on input from practicing physicians.
[1] https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/967822-overview#:~:text=United%20States%20statistics,than%202%20years%20of%20age.
04/24
Disclaimer
The information provided in this resource does not constitute legal, medical or any other professional advice, nor does it establish a standard of care. This resource has been created as an aid to you in your practice. The ultimate decision on how to use the information provided rests solely with you, the PolicyOwner.