ELM
COURSE
LIBRARY
ELM boasts the industry’s largest online course library
of more than 190 courses including offerings for over
28 different specialty areas. Courses are designed
for various clinical settings and can be configured
to meet the needs of different provider types,
specialties, facilities, or any combination of variables.
The following pages contain our list of course topics,
descriptions and number of continuing education
hours available per course.
Just Released!
+ Domestic Violence: A Guide for Florida
Physicians (II)
+ HIV II
+ Minor Consent
+ Nursing: Cultural Competency
+ Nursing: Pain Management (nursing and longterm care specific)
+ OB: Consultation and Referral II
+ OB: Informed Consent
+ OB: Provider Communication
+ Patient Safety: Meeting National Safety Goals
+ Preventing Medical Errors II
+ Risks in Electronic Medical Record Utilization for
the Massachusetts Clinician
+ Sentinel Events: Prevention and Response
Reduce clinical risk.
Advance patient safety.
One course at a time.
888-536-4ELM (4356) + [email protected] + www.elmexchange.com
Revised December 2014 valid thru March 2015
FUNDAMENTAL
MEDICAL-LEGAL
COURSE
TOPICS GRIDCOURSES
These courses utilize case studies to illustrate the medical-legal issues in each topical area; each
course is designated for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Adverse Event Disclosure: Potential Consequences of Inadequate Disclosure - Consequences of concealing a procedural
complication, consequences of concealing a medical error, how complications should be explained to a patient or patient’s family,
and the consequences associated with blame following an adverse event.
CME, 1.25
Bioethics (I): End of Life Issues - Reconciling familial conflict, respect for patient’s treatment preferences, honest communication of
a deteriorating clinical condition, and duties to a patient and patient’s family following death.
CME, 1.25
Chain of Command - Reporting instances of patient endangerment, when to initiate the chain of command, how to appropriately
escalate a disagreement with the level of medical care rendered by a fellow healthcare provider, and consequences of failure to
initiate chain of command.
CME, 1.25
CMS Non-Payment for Hospital-Acquired Conditions - Reviews the CMS Rules, the existing HACs selected for non-payment by
CMS and discusses examples of conditions that may affect non-payment to hospitals.
CME, 1.25
Coding Fraud and Abuse (I): Provider Responsibility - Fraudulent billing, allocation of billed fees by CPT code, CPT discovery in
malpractice litigation, and the impact of incorrect ICD coding on patient insurability.
CME, 1.25
Coding Fraud and Abuse (II): Third Party Access and CMS Guidelines - Alternative uses for CPT codes, confidentiality of CPT coding,
Medicaid authorized healthcare providers, and submission of false or fraudulent Medicare claims.
CME, 1.25
Consultation and Referral (I) - Duty to consult, sources and timing of consultation, responsibilities of consulting physicians who
become treating physicians, and liability for errors of consultation.
CME, 1.25
Controlled Substance Prescribing: Risks in Managing and Terminating the Physician-Patient Relationship - Consequences of
empathy-based over-prescription of controlled substances, continuing prescription of narcotics following termination of the
physician-patient relationship, avoiding allegations of abandonment in withdrawal from the physician-patient relationship, and
terminating the physician-patient relationship when indicated by breach of pain contract.
CME, 1.25
Coordination of Patient Care (III): Leadership Responsibility - Avoiding dangerous assumptions, responsibility for patient care,
determining urgency in coordination of care, and coordinating the care of critically ill patients.
CME, 1.25
Coordination of Patient Care (IV): Hand-off and Co-Provider Communication - Duty of co-treating physicians to communicate
and discuss potentially harmful risks and side effects of patient treatment, provision of continuous care in a group practice, duty of
a physician to assure that a subsequent healthcare provider is aware of and responds to information critical to a patient’s safety, and
the consequences across the care continuum of failing to document evaluation for all possible entities in the differential diagnosis.
CME, 1.25
Cultural Competency (I): Cross Cultural Communication - Ensuring an accurate history is taken from non-native speakers
of English, assessing patient literacy/health literacy, obtaining informed consent from a patient with a significant visual, and
accommodating patients with disabilities..
CME, 1.25
Cultural Competency (II): Assessing Patient-Specific Needs - Understanding when use of interpreting services may assist in
diagnosing patient depression, when a fellow healthcare provider may require interpreting services, the extent to which a patient’s
cultural or religious background may influence a his/her refusal of treatment, and the extent to which a patient’s cultural background
may influence non-compliance.
CME, 1.25
A Culture of Safety - CAUTI guidelines and enforcement of patient safety initiatives, avoiding HAIs and non-payment, wrongsite surgery and surgical time outs, and the extent to which non-clinicians and non-behavioral elements may shape the patient
experience. (Similar to Patient Safety, with greater emphasis on the impact of safe practices on the patient experience and on
fostering a cultural shift. Includes references to Joint Commission NPSGs, CMS payment for HACs, NQF SREs “never-events,” and
the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.)
CME, 1.25
Deposition and Trial Guidelines for the Physician Defendant - The importance of medical record review, controlling emotional
responses, avoiding volunteering superfluous information, and consequences of blaming a colleague (Illustrated with video
dramatizations).
CE, 1.0
0
Diagnostic Duty: Appropriate Follow-up to Diagnose Early Malignancies (Lung, Vulvar, Thyroid and Lymphoma) - Examines the
duty to follow the recommendations of a consultant, consider serious but uncommon disease entities, further investigate atypical
recoveries, and to review all findings contained in a laboratory or consultation report.
CME, 1.25
Diagnostic Duty: Breast Cancer - Examines the duty to reconcile inconclusive lab reports, the challenges associated with
diagnosing breast cancer in patients with fibrocystic disease, the need to resolve imaging studies inconsistent with clinical findings,
and the importance of documenting a diagnostic plan and coordinating treatment with multiple treating providers.
CME, 1.25
Diagnostic Duty to Patients with Hereditary Cancer Syndromes - The physician’s duty to warn relatives of patients with genetically
transmissible cancers, to seek consultation or referral in diagnosis or management of patients with hereditary cancer syndromes,
and to document those actions in addition to a patient’s refusal to seek recommended treatment or referral.
CME, 1.25
Diagnostic Error: Scoliosis, Infection, Fracture, Cardiac Disease – The duty to investigate possible radiologic abnormalities in
diagnosing scoliosis, to recognize serious drug reactions that may be mistaken for infections, obtain adequate studies in diagnosis
of fractures, and to consider the duty that may be established when providing patient-specific advice in consultation with another
provider.
CME, 1.25
Disruptive Clinician - Hospital responsibility to discipline clinicians for disruptive behavior, improper criticism of competing
healthcare providers, disruptive behavior resulting from mental illness, and addressing patterns of disruptive behavior.
CME, 1.25
Documentation of Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) - Duty to non-appointed health care agents, appropriate
utilization of health care proxy form v. MOLST form, applying revisions to the MOLST form, and acceding to family demands.
CME, 1.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 2 of 11
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Documentation: Electronic Medical Records - The responsibility of physicians and nurses to review and reconcile all available
patient records to detect significant history, the importance of contemporaneous record entry when defending allegations of
substandard care, perils of over reliance on EMRs for notification of returned positive lab results, and establishing procedures to
ensure follow-up instructions are communicated to patient, documented appropriately and that timely follow-up is completed.
CME, 1.25
Documenting End-of-Life Treatment Preferences (IL) - Duty to non-appointed health care agents, limitations of non-medical
advanced directives, applying revisions to advance directives in the EMR, and ethical questions related to the duty to accede to
family demands. (This course was developed for the state of Illinois but can be customized to reflect any state practice.)
CME, 1.25
Domestic Violence: A Guide for Connecticut Physicians – Duty to report intimate partner violence and reportable injuries (whether
or not the result of domestic violence).
CME, 1.25
Domestic Violence: A Guide for Florida Physicians (I) - When to report child abuse, recognizing the signs, documenting
observations, and duty to victims.
CME, 2.0
Domestic Violence: A Guide for Florida Physicians (II) – Duty to report suspected child abuse, abuse of vulnerable adults, financial
abuse and intimate partner violence.
CME, 1.25
Electronic Media and Healthcare - Electronic communication as a barrier to patient safety, patient privacy and social networking,
discoverable “personal” property, and taking and transmitting photographs in a clinical environment.
CME, 1.25
Empathic Care: Desensitization Dangers - Consequences of insensitivity in delayed diagnosis, social media privacy breach,
documentation, and in treatment of the deceased.
CME, 1.25
Empathy and Disclosure - Highlights the benefits of and provides some guidelines for disclosing errors to patients and families.
CME, 1.0
Ensuring Patient Safety and Satisfaction (I): Provider-Patient Communication - Empathetic communication, quantity v. quality time
spent, retention of details that inform treatment, and the impact of forgetfulness on patient satisfaction.
CME, 1.25
Ensuring Patient Safety and Satisfaction (II): Provider-Provider Communication - Impact of effective provider-to-provider
communication, understanding v. managing difficult patients, avoiding assumptions when managing complex conditions, and
narrating the patient safety experience.
CME, 1.25
Ensuring Patient Safety and Satisfaction (III): Assessing Health Literacy in Patient Education - One size fits all approach to diabetes
management proves ineffective, understanding the parents’ role in shaping the outcome for minors and determining the feasibility
of treatment plans, education that is overwhelming for patients with low health literacy, education that should never be withheld
from patients regardless of their background.
CME, 1.25
Establishing Physician-Patient Relationships (I) - Establishing the physician-patient relationship, contracts and guarantees in
physician-patient relationship, treatment duties to multiple providers, and reasonable restrictions on duty to treat.
CME, 1.25
Evaluation of Patients with Known or Suspected Hereditary Cancer Syndromes - Approach to counseling fellow healthcare
providers, duty to reevaluate a patient, reconsider the treatment plan and consider additional testing (possibly genetic screening)
when the patient does not respond as expected to treatment, the importance of documenting discussions related to family cancer
history and genetic testing, and verifying the validity of a patient’s request for radical preventative cancer treatment through genetic
screening and/or psychiatric evaluation.
CME, 1.25
Fatigue Management for the Resident Physician - Balancing the desire to learn and serve patients with the need for self-care, the
impact of fatigue on critical thinking, fatigue that leads to detrimental workarounds, and potential dangers of sleep aid utilization.
CME, 1.25
Handling Office-Based Emergencies - Detection and action for serious and/or life-threatening foreseeable injuries, patient
supervision, oversights that may elicit punitive damages claims, and management/maintenance of office equipment.
CME, 1.25
HIPAA Privacy Rules - Non-Treating healthcare providers access to PHI and PHI disclosure parameters for treating healthcare
providers.
CME, 1.75
HIV I - Diagnostic error and scope of practice, treatment of contaminated waste, and confidentiality of test results. (This course was
designed to meet the FL state requirements.)
CME, 1.0
HIV II - Duty to consult an HIV+ patient’s treating physician before prescribing medication and/or initiating treatment, potential
implications of refusal to treat/operate, and the duty to ensure confidentiality of patient records. (This course was designed to meet
the FL state requirements.)
CME, 1.0
The Impact of Technology on Patient Care - The importance of utilizing available testing and technology to detect and manage
genetic conditions, the dangers associated with “alert fatigue,” managing risks that arise when newer technology replaces older but
still reliable procedures, and avoiding physician-patient disconnection associated with use of electronic medical record systems.
CME, 1.25
Incomplete/Altered Records - Contemporaneous recordation, altering v. amending the record, documentation outside of the
medical record, and documentation of participating healthcare providers.
CME, 1.25
Informed Consent (I): Capacity and Refusal - Capacity to consent, duty to obtain consent, extensions or alterations to procedure,
and refusal of life or limb-saving treatment.
CME, 1.25
Informed Consent (III): Provider Specific Disclosure - Physician impairment, intraoperative change of surgeon, disclosing familiarity
and proficiency with a procedure or equipment, and disclosing qualifications for performing proposed procedure.
CME, 1.25
Informed Consent (IV): Individualized Consent - Tailoring informed consent, battery theory of consent claim, scope of informed
consent, and mental capacity to consent (with video definitions of terms/dramatizations).
CME, 1.5
Managing Difficult Patients (II): Patient Contribution and Capacity - Recovery of damages for the non-compliant patient, patient
deception, patient lifestyle choices that impact provider liability, and questioning a difficult patient’s capacity to withdrawal consent.
CME, 1.25
Managing Difficult Patients (III): Assessment and Action - Informing patients of test results after treatment refusal, managing
patient anger or misperception, assessing patient capacity to refuse emergency treatment, and terminating the physician-patient
relationship.
CME, 1.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 3 of 11
CE, 1.0
CE, 1.0
CE, 1.0
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Managing Difficult Patients (IV): Duty and Documentation - Guidelines for terminating the physician-patient relationship, clinical
assessment of patients with chronic pain, weighing evidence of child abuse/neglect, and documenting patient non-compliance.
CME, 1.25
Managing Difficult Patients (V): Situational Awareness of Difficult Patient Needs - Appropriate withdrawal from the physicianpatient relationship in response to a hostile family member, management of drug seeking patients in the emergency department,
hospitalized dementia patients, and patients who demand discharge against medical advice.
CME, 1.25
Managing Labs and Test Results (I): Safe Tracking and Communication - Tracking laboratory test results, duties to patients not
currently under treatment, communicating incidentally discovered abnormalities, and safeguarding confidentiality of electronically
transmitted clinical information.
CME, 1.25
Managing Labs and Test Results (II): Assuming Responsibility - Safety measures to undertake when new lab reporting procedures
are adopted, follow-up on positive lab results post-discharge, informing patients of pending test results to elicit their engagement in
follow-up, and the pitfalls of relying solely upon verbal confirmation of test results.
CME, 1.25
Managing Patient Families: Ethics and Communication for the Pediatric Specialist - Terminating care in response to a hostile family
member, duty to document and discuss end-of-life treatment preferences, preventing errors in transmission of records, detecting
and reporting suspected child abuse, and a minor’s right to refuse treatment.
CME, 1.25
Managing Patients with Behavioral Health Issues - Describes appropriate assessment of patients who may pose a danger to
themselves or others, risks associated with continued prescription of psychotropic medications to patients with known suicidal
ideations, dangers of diagnosing somatoform disorders or psychosomatic illness before ruling out possible organic disease, and the
importance of evaluating patients in the intensive care unit for hallucinatory or delusional behavior that may result in self-harm or
injury to others.
CME, 1.25
Managing Patients with Dependency Issues - Counseling patients dealing with obesity and disclosing obesity-related surgical risks,
managing the disruptive alcoholic patient in an outpatient environment, a primary care physician’s duty to appropriately screen and
refer patients seeking treatment for chronic pain, and the importance of disclosing surgical risks specific to patients who smoke.
CME, 1.25
Managing Patients with Suspected or Known Hereditary Cancer Syndromes - Resolving conflicting reports of multiple specialists,
coordination of care for patients with hereditary cancer syndromes, duty to provide adequate follow-up of a management plan and
duty to confirm that the goal of prophylactic cancer surgery has been achieved.
CME, 1.25
Medication Error (I): Procedural Awareness - Importance of adhering to procedures, clarity of medication orders, compounding
prescription errors, and managing distractions in healthcare settings.
CME, 1.25
Medication Error (II): Situational Awareness - Diligence in record review, inter-provider communication, adaptation to systems
failure, and demonstration of competency to eliminate medication errors.
CME, 1.25
Minor Consent (I) - Consent capacity of the mature minor, limitations on examination of a minor, parental conflict with state or
hospital mandate, and consent by a non-custodial parent.
CME, 1.25
Moderate Sedation (I): Pre and Post-Procedural Risks - Patient’s right to refuse treatment, safety of sedated patients
intraprocedurally, ensuring safe transitions of care, and appropriate conduct with sedated patients.
CME, 1.25
Moderate Sedation (II): Anticipating Patient-Specific Adverse Events - Avoiding adverse patient sedation reactions, providing a safe
procedure environment, avoiding distractions and anticipating patient-specific operative complications.
CME, 1.25
Pain Management (I): Management Parameters -Significance of palliative care plans, appropriate assessment and management of
pain, failure to comply with statutory requirements, and the impact of willful misconduct on statutory protections.
CME, 1.25
Pain Management (II): Dosage Dangers - Identifying drug seeking patients, heeding patient safety warnings, avoiding unethical or
illegal prescription of controlled substances, and conducting complete patient evaluation for opioid administration.
CME, 1.25
Pain Management (III): Monitoring - Ramifications of inadequate chronic pain management and documentation, medication side
effects, illegal prescription drug schemes, and opioid toxicity.
CME, 1.25
Patient Safety (I): Preventing Patient Misidentification - Enforcing patient identification protocols to avoid medication error, patient
identity verification in interpretation and communication of lab results, verifying patient identity prior to ordering tests/performing
procedures, and the benefit of communicating with and educating patients to avoid misidentification errors.
CME, 1.25
Patient Safety (II): Preventing Surgical Errors – Describes the benefits of surgical safety checklists and timeout sheets in prevention
of wrong-site/wrong-side/wrong-patient surgeries, the importance of assessing OR fire risk, provides strategies for preventing
retention of surgical items, and emphasizes the role of effective OR team communication in preventing ASA class 1 patient injury.
CME, 1.25
Patient Safety: Meeting National Patient Safety Goals - Mitigating errors identified by The Joint Commission, including wrong-side/
wrong-site surgeries, patient misidentification, unintentionally retained foreign objects and medication errors.
CME, 1.25
Physician Impairment - Video dramatizations depict epidemiology of physician impairment, signs and symptoms, and appropriate
steps to take when evidence of impairment is identified.
CME, 1.25
Physician Liability for Midlevel Providers - Vicarious Liability for CRNA, midwife supervision, review of PA records, physician liability
in collaboration with NP.
CME, 1.25
Pressure Ulcer Prevention - Assessment for pressure ulcers upon admission, measuring healing, documentation of assessments,
appropriate management of non-healing pressure ulcers, pressure ulcer treatment in the LTC environment, and in the non-elderly
and/or obese patient.
CME, 1.25
Preventing Medical Errors II- Communication failures that contribute to diagnostic errors, duty to consider alternative imaging
studies, pursuing follow-up on advice rendered, timely detection of postoperative complications and understanding evidence-based
protocols in the management/treatment of a patient with cancer. (This course was designed to meet the FL state requirements.)
CME, 2.0
Preventing Physician-Nurse Communication Failures - Communication required between physicians and nurses when urgently
required patient care is coordinated, a physician’s duty to maintain communication specificity and clarity when verbally relaying
orders, a nurse’s responsibility to clarify ambiguous, questionable or unclear medication orders, and the degree to which
professional stereotyping may hinder both physician-nurse communication and patient safety.
CME, 1.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 4 of 11
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Professionalism and Patient Satisfaction for the Non-Clinician - The impact of non-clinician professionalism on the patient
experience, the impact of office culture on patient safety, the positive impact narration of procedures and testing performed may
have on patient lives, and the impact of non-clinician empathy on patient outcomes.
CME, 1.25
Protecting Patient Privacy - Liability under state law for wrongful disclosure of confidential patient information, employer liability for
an employee’s violation of state privacy laws, consequences associated with a breach of confidentiality by a business associate, and
managing privacy challenges associated with joint records.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in the Office Practice (I): Provider Liability and Staff Supervision - Associated risks of in-office testing and
physician liability, equipment maintenance, establishing protocols for safe transitions of care, and recognizing urgent care needs.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in the Office Practice (II): Precautions and Prevention - Weighing risks of minor in-office surgical procedures,
certification and reliability of office equipment, office equipment safety surveillance, and disclosure of laboratory testing limitations.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in the Office Practice (III): Preventing Communication Failures - The importance of properly providing
informed refusal to a patient in advance of an emergency, an urgent care physician’s duty to communicate significant incidental
laboratory findings to a patient’s primary care physician, challenges associated with hospital to office physician communication, and
the importance of establishing office procedures to protect patient privacy and reinforcing these procedures through regular staff
training.
CME, 1.25
Risk Issues: EMR (I): Survey of Common Pitfalls - Risks of copy forwarding/copy paste in the EMR, credibility compromise when
electronically generated timestamps differ from subsequent manually recorded time entries, diligent record review and source
reconciliation (similar to Risks in Transitioning to Electronic Medical Records but with greater emphasis on general risks associated
with EMR documentation).
CME, 1.25
Risk Issues EMR (II): Dangers of Misuse - Potential pitfalls of relaying critical patient information electronically, overreliance on EMR
templates or auto-populate features, submitting electronic signature immediately to avoid asynchronous electronic communication
between providers, the dangers of copy forwarding (copy/paste) in the electronic medical record.
CME, 1.5
Risks in Electronic Medical Record Utilization for the Massachusetts Clinician - A 3-hr EMR risk survey course for the MA
practitioner (record cloning, alert fatigue, timestamp inconsistencies, and the impact of electronic medical records on physicianpatient communication).
CME, 3.0
Risks in Transitioning to Electronic Medical Records - Risks of copy forwarding/copy paste in the EMR, credibility compromise
when electronically generated timestamps differ from subsequent manually recorded time entries , diligent record review and
special precautions when transitioning to EMR (similar to Risk Issues: EMR but with greater emphasis on risks in transitioning to EMR).
CME, 1.25
Scope of Practice - Seeking consult when limits of expertise are tested, standards of care for providers who treat outside of their
specialty, recognizing limits of expertise for subspecialty procedures within one’s specialty, liability for the actions of a lesser trained
healthcare provider.
CME, 1.25
Screening Patients for Suspected Hereditary Cancer Syndromes - The importance of eliciting more detail when a patient provides
vague family cancer history, duty to update significant family history, appropriate documentation of history obtained, and the need
to confirm family history via genetic testing before undertaking prophylactic surgical procedures.
CME, 1.25
Sexual Assault: A Guide for Connecticut Physicians – Avoiding allegations of sexual impropriety when conducting physical
examinations, the extent to which a personal or intimate relationship with a patient may impact informed consent, and the duty to
report both child and elder sexual abuse.
CME, 1.25
Sexual Harassment in the Healthcare Setting - Explores penalties for violating Title VII under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 including
dismissal, loss of privileges and/or actions on professional licenses. (This course was designed for the CA state mandate.)
CME, 1.75
Shared Accountability: Supervisor-Resident Communication- Establishing policy on appropriate communication methods,
systemic failures that result in patient injury, consequences of unauthorized dissemination of patient information via social media
channel, and postoperative care supervisory duties.
CME, 1.25
Supervision of Residents and Assistants - Institutional review of procedures, concurrent supervision, duty to respond in emergency
situation, and action on contraindicated order.
CME, 1.25
Transitions of Care (I): Transfer Documentation and Intro-Provider Communication - Documenting ordered tests and
consultations, coordination of care, providing detailed transfer instructions, and risks in provider-to-provider transfer.
CME, 1.25
Transitions of Care (II): Provider and Facility Responsibility - Medical responsibility during transfer, timely patient transfer, facility
policies regarding transitions of care, critically weighing patient stability for emergency transfer.
CME, 1.25
Transitions of Care (III): Managing Discharge Risks - Reconciling prescribed medications in patient transition, duty to ensure safe
transition home, communicating lab and test results in patient transition to another facility, and providing appropriate follow-up care
instructions.
CME, 1.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 5 of 11
CE, 1.0
SPECIALTY-SPECIFIC
COURSE TOPICSCOURSES
GRID
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Risk and Safety Issues in Anesthesiology - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific
to the provision of anesthesia services.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Cardiology - Reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to cardiology.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Critical Care - Reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to critical care.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Dentistry- Reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to dentistry.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Emergency Medicine - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies
specific to emergency medicine.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Family Medicine - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific
to family medicine.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Gynecology - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
gynecology.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Hospital-Based Medicine - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies
specific to hospital-based practice.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Internal Medicine - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific
to internal medicine.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Neurosurgery - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
neurosurgery.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Obstetrics - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
obstetrics.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Orthopedics - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
orthopedics.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Pathology - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
pathology.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Pediatrics - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
pediatrics.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Podiatry - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to the
podiatric practice.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Psychiatry - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to the
provision of psychiatric services.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Radiology - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
radiology.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Surgery - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
surgery.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Trans-Specialty Medicine - Reviews four medical malpractice case studies encompassing medical
subspecialties (dermatology, gastroenterology and neurology).
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Trans-Specialty Surgery - Reviews four medical malpractice case studies encompassing surgical
subspecialties (otolaryngology, ophthalmology, oral surgery, and plastic surgery).
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in Urology - Each of the courses in this series reviews four medical malpractice case studies specific to
surgery.
CME, 1.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 6 of 11
SPECIALTY-SPECIFIC
COURSE TOPICSCOURSES
GRID
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
OB: Consultation and Referral I - Explores the risk and safety issues that may arise if careful attention to detail is not part of the
consultation and/or referral process.
CME, 1.25
OB: Consultation and Referral II: Circumstances when an obstetrician without subspecialty training should refer a patient for
treatment, diagnostic duties of subspecialists evaluating referred patients, consultation and referral duties for potentially lifethreatening conditions, and follow-up responsibilities of consulted physicians.
CME, 1.25
OB: Coordination of Patient Care - Examines the duty of the healthcare team to cooperate and communicate with each other for
the protection of the mother and fetus/neonate.
CME, 1.25
OB: Diagnostic Error – Appropriate attention to rare, potentially life-threatening conditions, awareness of medication side-effects
when recommending treatment, recognition of signs of postpartum infection, and consideration of both pregnancy-related
conditions and coexisting serious non-pregnancy related entities.
CME, 1.25
OB: Electronic Fetal Monitoring - Provides an overview of fetal heart rate patterns and interpretations, explains the importance of
responding appropriately and reviews the importance of documentation.
CME, 1.25
OB: Informed Consent - Patient’s right to refuse lifesaving treatment, duty to repeat information previously provided to the patient,
obtaining consent for circumcision, and obtaining consent for tocolytic drugs.
CME, 1.25
OB: Managing Labs and Test Results - Ensuring accuracy of reported test results, the benefit of documenting follow-up on
recommended testing, the duty to follow up on inadequate test results, and the duty to review and document even the most routine
lab or test results.
CME, 1.25
OB: Provider Communication - The referring obstetrician’s duty to clearly communicate the role of the consulted physician along
with all details relevant to the patient’s clinical management, ensuring the urgency of delivery is clear to the entire labor and delivery
team, effective communication with radiology, and avoiding ambiguity in asynchronous or written communication (in the absence
of face-to-face communication).
CME, 1.25
OB: Shoulder Dystocia - Explores patient risk factors, provides an overview of the maneuvers, and demonstrates how establishing
procedures and rehearsing those procedures in advance, lessens critical reaction time when the emergency arises.
CME, 1.25
OB: Antepartum Risks - Explores conditions that occur during pregnancy, and the physician’s duty to detect and clinically manage
those conditions.
CME, 1.25
OB: Intrapartum Risks - Explores situations in which the patient was at risk during labor and/or delivery, and how the actions or
inactions of the involved providers may have caused or contributed to patient injury.
CME, 1.25
OB: Postpartum Risks - Will explore postpartum conditions that risk the health of the mother and may expose a physician to
litigation.
CME, 1.25
EM Risk Issues: Stroke and Trauma - Includes four medical malpractice cases on these specific issues.
CME, 1.25
EM Risk Issues: MI and Aortic Dissection/Rupture - includes four medical malpractice cases on these specific issues.
CME, 1.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 7 of 11
CHILDREN’S
COURSES
COURSEHOSPITAL
TOPICS GRID
Each of these courses utilizes malpractice case studies derived from clinical situations occurring in
the children’s hospital setting.
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Communication and Documentation Risks for the Children’s Hospital Physician - Reviewing paper record entries following
upload to EMR, dangers of relying solely upon the verbal report of a consulting physician, duty to review original lab results, duty to
reconcile records transmitted from an incompatible record system at an off-site facility.
CME, 1.25
Communication: Disclosure of Adverse Outcomes - Critical follow-up not provided, concealing cause of patient injury, recording
the diagnostic process, and concealment of error.
CME, 1.25
Consultation and Referral - Recognizing limits of expertise, consultation when treatment fails or symptoms persist, questioning the
advice of a consultant and understanding the purpose of a referral.
CME, 1.25
Coordination of Patient Care - Recognizing the need for referral, duty to third parties, duty to reassess initial diagnosis of another
provider, and safe transfer of trauma patients.
CME, 1.25
Documentation (I) - Explores how a physician’s professional competence is called into question if records do not represent an
accurate picture of assessment/diagnostic processes and subsequent patient care.
CME, 1.25
Documentation (II): Record Contents and Maintenance - Documenting ordered tests and consultations, documenting pertinent
negative findings, documenting termination of physician-patient relationship, and properly maintaining medical records.
CME, 1.25
Documenting Transitions of Care - Documenting tests ordered, required postoperative care, stability for transfer, and patient safety
considerations.
CME, 1.25
EMR Risk Issues - Risks of copy forwarding/copy paste in the EMR, credibility compromise when electronically generated
timestamps differ from subsequent manually recorded time entries, diligent record review and source reconciliation.
CME, 1.25
Incomplete/Altered Records - Contemporaneous recordation, altering v. amending the record, documentation outside of the
medical record, and documentation of participating healthcare providers.
CME, 1.25
Managing Labs and Test Results - Follow-up on congenital abnormality testing, coordination of patient care, follow-up on abnormal
laboratory reports, and the duty of a consulting specialist to communicate an abnormality unrelated to his/her specialty.
CME, 1.25
Managing Patient Families: Ethics and Communication for the Children’s Hospital - Terminating care in response to a hostile family
member, duty to document and discuss end-of-life treatment preferences, preventing errors in transmission of records, detecting
and reporting suspected child abuse, and a minor’s right to refuse treatment.
CME, 1.25
Minor Consent (I) - Consent capacity of the mature minor, limitations on examination of a minor, parental conflict with state or
hospital mandate, and consent by a non-custodial parent.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues for Hospitalists - Documentation of rationale for not following consultant advice, use of interpreter to obtain
patient history, failure to obtain critical information during telephone inquiry, establishment of physician-patient relationship,
ensuring use of proper size medical devices, failure to consult a specialist, properly correcting the medical record, and responsibility
to check necessary equipment.
CME, 1.25
Risk and Safety Issues in the Children’s Hospital - Medication management in high risk transitions, provider communication of
medication side effects, informed consent for minor, and appropriate documentation of discharge information.
CME, 1.25
Sentinel Events: Prevention and Response - Appropriately responding to a near-miss, designing error-proof work processes, patient
safety: promoting provider-provider communication and care coordination, and balancing polarities of emotion in response to an
adverse event.
CME, 1.25
Shared Accountability: Supervisor-Resident Communication - Establishing policy on appropriate communication methods,
systemic failures that result in patient injury, consequences of unauthorized dissemination of patient information via social media
channel, and postoperative care supervisory duties.
CME, 1.25
Supervision and Control (I): Supervisor and Supervisee Duties - Supervision of resident physician, patient care at teaching hospitals,
procedures for required supervision, and required consultation.
CME, 1.25
Supervision and Control (II): Active Supervision - Active supervision of resident physicians in training, lace of resident supervision,
supervision of non-physician personnel, and concurrent supervision of multiple residents.
CME, 1.25
Technology and Healthcare - Privacy breaches and social networking, EMR copy forwarding, reconciling lab results from multiple
records systems, and avoiding allegations of improper record entry.
CME, 1.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 8 of 11
LONG-TERM
CARE COURSES
COURSE TOPICS
GRID
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Family Engagement – Balancing a family’s wishes/instructions with the safety of the resident and his/her treatment preferences, the
beneficial effects of engaging family in resident care, working with families who are unable to visit in-person regularly, and involving
the family in resident care when the resident is at risk for suicide, elopement or falls.
CME, 1.25
Nursing: Pain Management – Appropriate assessment of patient-specific risk factors such as age, substance abuse history, and endof-life patient rights.
CE, 1.0
Risk and Safety Issues in Long-Term Care I - A survey course for the entire healthcare team that addresses risks associated with
resident falls, pressure ulcers, medication errors, and elopement.
CME, 1.25
Pressure Ulcer Prevention - Assessment for pressure ulcers upon admission, measuring healing, documentation of assessments,
appropriate management of non-healing pressure ulcers, pressure ulcer treatment in the LTC environment, and in the non-elderly
and/or obese patient.
CME, 1.25
Mini-Modules:
An Accident-Free Environment - Addresses risks associated with resident falls in a long-term healthcare environment.
CME, 0.25
Elopement Risk - Addresses risks associated with elopement in a long-term healthcare environment.
CME, 0.25
Medication Safety - Addresses risks associated with medication errors in a long-term healthcare environment.
CME, 0.25
Pressure Ulcer Prevention - Addresses risks associated with pressure ulcers in a long-term healthcare environment.
CME, 0.25
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 9 of 11
NURSING-SPECIFIC
COURSE TOPICSCOURSES
GRID
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Culture of Safety - A course for the entire healthcare team-because building a culture of safety requires buy-in from the entire
healthcare team, from physicians to non-clinicians. Enforcement of patient safety guidelines is a process, requires team engagement
and regular follow-up. Maintaining a culture of safety involves team awareness of both the behavioral and non-behavioral, clinical
and non-clinical elements that shape the patient experience. (Similar to Patient Safety, with greater emphasis on the impact of safe
practices on the patient experience and on fostering a cultural shift. Includes references to Joint Commission NPSGs, CMS payment
for HACs, NQF SREs “never-events,” and the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.)
CME, 1.25
CE, 1.0
Empathic Nursing Care: Desensitization Dangers - Explores the importance of balancing empathy with professionalism when
managing response to physical or emotional patient trauma/suffering and outlines appropriate responses to clinical situations
requiring the utmost sensitivity.
CE, 1.0
Ensuring Patient Safety and Satisfaction (I): Provider-to-Patient Communication - Explores approaches to establishing rapport
in one-on-one provider-patient interactions as well as in coordination of patient care with other providers, with emphasis on
the importance of engaging patients and their families in care and the positive impact engagement may have on overall patient
satisfaction.
CME, 1.25
Ensuring Patient Safety and Satisfaction (II): Provider-to-Provider Communication - Describes the benefits of effective
communication techniques in both patient and provider-to-provider interactions and the cost associated with communication
failures.
CME, 1.25
CE, 1.0
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Chain of Command - Demonstrates clinical situations where it is appropriate for a nurse to raise a concern with a
physician’s clinical management of a patient that endangers the patient’s welfare.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Communication - Defines the effective gathering and transferring of pertinent patient information to improve the quality of
patient care.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Cultural Competency - Incorporating patient values into treatment plan, the influence of culture on maternal-infant
bonding at birth, assimilating alternate healing practices in critical care nursing, and coping with cultural issues in an office practice
setting.
CE, 2.0
Nursing: Documentation - Explores the importance of thorough and accurate medical record documentation.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Medication Error - Emphasizes that by adhering to procedures, ensuring clarity of medication orders, avoiding prescription
errors and managing distractions in healthcare settings, the occurrence of medication errors can be greatly reduced.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Pain Management - Assessing patient-specific pain medication risks, applying a multimodal approach to analgesia,
managing the substance abusing patient and patients at the end of life.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Patient Safety - Focuses on the widely recognized national patient safety goals designed to safeguard patients from harm
caused by medication errors, procedures on the wrong patient, environmental hazards and communicable diseases and the nurse’s
role in preventing errors.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Risks in the Emergency Department - Examines the critical importance of extreme care in administering the proper
medication in the correct dosage often under time limited, urgent, life-threatening and extremely stressful circumstances, the
importance of clarifying a provider’s orders, and of fairly and accurately assessing and protecting both “frequent flyer” in the ED and
patients who pose a risk to themselves or others.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Teambuilding - Focuses on nursing leadership roles, relationships and responsibilities for training and supervising members
of a nursing team.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Transitions of Care - Addresses the issues of inter-provider and inter-facility transfers, the clinical procedure to ensure a
safe patient transfer, as well as the legal issues and implications involved.
CE, 1.0
Nursing: Violence in the Workplace - Describes the emotional and physical effects of patient aggression on both patient and staff
safety, the importance of identifying and reporting workplace violence through the appropriate chain of command, strategies that
promote and create a culture of zero tolerance for workplace violence, and strategies for de-escalating potentially threatening
clinical situations involving an aggressive patient or family member.
CE, 1.0
Transitions of Care (III): Managing Discharge Risks - Explores risks to patients in discharge planning with regard to medication
reconciliation, continued postoperative management and associated follow-up care instruction, risks to patients transitioning to
home, another facility, or to another level of care.
1
CME, 1.25
CE, 1.0
ELM Exchange, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
ELM Exchange, Inc. is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 10 of 11
VIDEOCOURSE
DRAMATIZATION
COURSES
TOPICS GRID
Course Name and Description
Type and Number of CE
Hours
Empathic Nursing Care: Desensitization Dangers - Explores the importance of balancing empathy with professionalism when
managing response to physical or emotional patient trauma/suffering and outlines appropriate responses to clinical situations
requiring the utmost sensitivity.
CE, 1.0
Ensuring Patient Safety and Satisfaction (I): Provider-to-Patient Communication - Explores approaches to establishing rapport
in one-on-one provider-patient interactions as well as in coordination of patient care with other providers, with emphasis on
the importance of engaging patients and their families in care and the positive impact engagement may have on overall patient
satisfaction.
CME, 1.25
Ensuring Patient Safety and Satisfaction (II): Provider-to-Provider Communication - Describes the benefits of effective
communication techniques in both patient and provider-to-provider interactions and the cost associated with communication
failures.
CME, 1.25
Medical Assistant Scope of Practice: Provider-Provider Communication - Avoiding assumptions in regard to MA scope of practice
or competency to perform clinical tasks, ensuring MA comprehension of recordation procedures, avoiding inappropriate hand-offs
to MAs, and the MA’s responsibility to be aware of the clinical tasks they are expected to perform, state or facility-based restrictions
on the performance of such tasks, and the importance of fostering an office or hospital culture in which the MA feels comfortable
voicing hesitancy to perform tasks for which he/she may lack the requisite training or experience.
CME, 0.5
Patient Education
CME, 0.5
Professionalism and Patient Satisfaction for the Non-Clinician– Explores the impact of non-clinician professionalism on the patient
experience, the impact of office culture on patient safety, he benefit to the patient when non-clinicians take the time to introduce
themselves and explain their role, and the impact of non-clinician empathy on patient outcomes.
CME, 1.25
CE, 1.0
CE, 1.0
ELM Exchange, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
ELM Exchange, Inc. is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
revised December 2014 - valid thru March 2015
Page 11 of 11