Shows
Within Normal Limits: Navigating Medical RisksTreating Family, Friends, and StaffDr. Dennis Boyle, a COPIC physician consultant and rheumatologist, is the guest on this episode which looks at the issue of treating friends, family, and staff as patients. The discussion looks at the ethical, legal, and other considerations in these types of situations using some case studies and highlighting the American Medical Association’s guidance. In particular, there is the issue of how your professional judgement may be impacted when you have a close, personal relationship with a patient. Dr. Boyle also highlights other concerns that include confidentiality, sensitive examinations, and dealing with the urge to provide medical advice to...2022-08-1725 minWithin Normal Limits: Navigating Medical RisksTalking with Patients Who Are Hesitant About the VaccineIt’s an issue that many physicians are facing and something that continues to be a focus in public discourse—people who don’t want to take the COVID vaccine. The conversations providers are having on this topic can be emotionally charged, full of confusion and disinformation, and difficult to navigate. This episode’s guest, Dr. Dennis Boyle, is an expert on communication and shares some insight on how to approach these situations such as the idea of “developing a therapeutic alliance” as a framing point, inquisitive inquiries, and seeking first to understand why a patient is hesitant. In addition, th...2021-09-0923 minWithin Normal Limits: Navigating Medical RisksMedication Errors: The Potential Side Effects and Risks of PrescribingDr. Dennis Boyle, COPIC physician risk manager, joins the podcast again to talk with Dr. Zacharias about ongoing issues we see with medication errors. These include drug-to-drug interactions, medications that are most prevalent in medical liability lawsuits (antibiotics, pain medicine, and anticoagulants), and awareness about black box warnings. Dr. Boyle walks through some case studies to illustrate why errors occur and highlights steps physicians can take to proactively address these situations. The conversation also covers the importance of documenting your thought process when prescribing, the use of “read backs,” the “five rights” of medication use (right patient, right drug, right ti...2021-04-2830 minWithin Normal Limits: Navigating Medical RisksNonverbal Communication: How Your Body Talks and What Patients HearDr. Zacharias is joined by Dr. Dennis Boyle, a COPIC physician risk manager, to talk about key elements of nonverbal communication that occur during physician-patient interactions such as touch, facial expressions, posture as well as the speed and tone of your voice. Dr. Boyle talks about nonverbal cues in both how we sent messages to patients and how “micro expressions” from patients can provide valuable insight into how our messages are being received and the patient’s state of mind. He also mentions the “golden minute” of when you first encounter a patient and have an opportunity to form a connecti...2021-04-2119 minWithin Normal Limits: Navigating Medical RisksAn Inside Look at How the Colorado Medical Board Responds to ComplaintsDr. Zacharias is joined by Dr. Dennis Boyle, a COPIC physician risk manager, and Dr. Donald J. Lefkowits, the current president of the Colorado Medical Board. Dr. Lefkowits talks about his journey from working in emergency medicine to becoming part of the Board’s leadership. He then walks through the types of complaints the Board receives and how they manage the process of addressing these. This includes recommendations for physicians who receive complaints, from using an attorney to help draft a response (a no-cost service available with COPIC’s coverage) to using a factual, non-emotional tone in your response to a...2021-03-0938 minWithin Normal Limits: Navigating Medical RisksBurnout from COVID-19: Moving Forward with ResilienceWhile burnout is a long-standing issue in health care, the compounded impact of COVID-19 has heightened its prevalence and the importance of efforts to address the well-being of medical providers. In this episode, Dr. Zacharias talks to one of COPIC’s experts on physician burnout, Dr. Dennis Boyle. They dissect the root causes of burnout and three key diameters to consider—depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and feelings of low accomplishment. They also look at other influential factors such as EHRs, workplace culture, and personality traits as well as the omnipresence of grief in health care. In addition, they talk about how...2020-12-1633 minWithin Normal Limits: Navigating Medical RisksMed Mal 101: Heads, Hearts, Bellies and BugsOur first episode draws upon decades of medical liability experience to distill down the key areas where we consistently see malpractice lawsuits—heads (neurologic), hearts (chest pain), bellies (abdominal pain), and bugs (infections). We examine why physicians sometimes misdiagnose symptoms that seem obvious in hindsight, but in actual practice, are not so simple. Our guest is Dr. Dennis Boyle, a rheumatologist who also teaches at University of Colorado School of Medicine and is a physician risk manager with COPIC. Dr. Boyle and Dr. Zacharias walk through some sample scenarios and offer guidance on how to avoid common risks while en...2020-11-1333 min