Various stakeholders may request a neonatal chart review.
Parents of newborns and lawyers are my most frequent clients. The needed amount of work and written report will depend on the client and their specific need. Below, I will talk more about clients and the different types of reports I provide them.
Clients asking for neonatal chart review
Parents:
Parents often contact me when they are frustrated and upset about the quality of care their baby received in the hospital. Sometimes, they want to know more because they do not trust their child’s doctors. Other times, something went wrong, their baby was hurt or harmed, and they want to better understand the situation before deciding to act.
We know that the hospital often tries to settle a case quickly whenever a baby gets severely injured. It is never a good idea to enter such a rushed settlement without talking to your lawyer and having your child’s medical care reviewed by a doctor.
In the abovementioned situations, parents usually request an initial or expanded review.
Rarely, when a case is already in court but is not going according to parents’ expectations, it may be a good idea to talk to me and request a customized review. I can review a medical chart from the nursery and read the testimonies and interviews conducted with doctors and nurses caring for the baby. I can advise your lawyer regarding questions that should be asked of expert witnesses or hospital administrators.
Remember that you will always be expected to pay me for the chart review.
If you go to the lawyer first, they will conduct a case review on their own (in most cases they will not charge you for it). Some of them will only talk to you about your concerns or review the chart without using a medical professional. Others will use a NICU nurse, neonatal nurse practitioner, or a doctor to do it. Many malpractice lawyers do not employ doctors for their initial reviews.
Lawyers do not charge you upfront; therefore, they do not want to invest too much money into hiring doctors and consultants unless they are sure the malpractice case will be successful and profitable for them.
That’s why obtaining an initial report from me first will allow you to have an upper hand in shopping around for a lawyer. Depending on the location of the involved hospital, I may also help you find an experienced malpractice lawyer.
Lawyers
Lawyers can contact me to conduct any of the three reviews described below. I guarantee delivery of the initial review report within five days of receiving complete documentation for the analysis. This quick timeline facilitates better communication between You and your anxious clients, improving mutual trust.
I will usually be able to deliver an expanded review within 14 days and a customized review in 2 to 4 weeks.
I also provide a service reviewing all testimonies and interviews with medical providers and administrators during malpractice proceedings. It may be invaluable, especially when a case is not progressing according to initial expectations or many hospital systemic factors contributed to harming a baby. Having had a lot of experience working on hospital quality and peer review committees, I am uniquely qualified to perform this type of analysis.
Hospital administrators:
If your hospital is not associated with a large children’s hospital or university center, you may need to occasionally hire an outside expert to review your doctors’ work. I will adjust my reports to your needs. I have worked before for external peer review companies providing this type of analysis. I performed chart reviews for credentialling and peer review hospital committees and risk management departments. Currently, I only offer these services independently as a consultant.
Types of Neonatal Chart Reviews Offered
Initial Review:
Link to an Initial Chart Review Example. Initial Review is recommended to be performed in each case first, and its price will be credited back to you if you decide to order a higher-level analysis (expanded or customized).
The initial Review will contain three components:
- A short summary of the case
- Statement regarding whether the management of the baby was performed within the standard of care (see below)
- List of deviations from the standard of care (will provide 1-2 references as well)
- An opportunity for you to have a 15-minute phone conversation with me after a review is completed and delivered to you
Price:
If the baby’s hospitalization was ten days at maximum, I guarantee the cost will be only $600 (must be paid upfront). For any other duration of hospitalization, please check with me. The amount of work needed (phone calls, e-mail exchanges, chart review, and writing up a report) is at least 4 hours for each such case. I keep this price intentionally low to allow more parents and lawyers to have a chance to request an independent neonatal chart review conducted by a neonatologist.
Delivery:
5 Days after I received complete medical records
Expanded Review:
This report will provide you with a detailed medical analysis of the case (Link to an example of Expanded Chart Review). It will include:
- An expanded summary of the case
- Statement regarding whether the management of the baby was performed within the standard of care and explanation of my reasoning
- List of deviations from the standard of care with explanations, detailed analysis, and references (national agencies, medical societies, book references, or scientific articles)
- List of procedures and treatments that were done right
- Comments regarding medical charting done by doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and pharmacists, if accessible to me.
- Comments regarding any potential additional factors impacting medical care provided to a patient (equipment problems, lack of essential hospital policies, low staffing levels, not following guidelines regarding neonatal levels of care, etc.)
- Comments about any missing pieces of information, which are sometimes very telling
- An opportunity for you to have a 30-minute phone conversation with me after a review is completed and delivered to you
Price:
On average, $2000-$4000; don’t hesitate to contact me for an assessment.
Delivery:
2 weeks or sooner.
Customized Review:
It could be anything that the client wants me to focus on. However, in most cases, since I do not know the case, I have to do an expanded analysis first and then only add the customization requested by a client. After delivering the written report, this type of Review usually includes extensive consultation with a client on the phone.
Price:
On average, $4000-$6000; don’t hesitate to contact me for an assessment.
Delivery:
2-4 weeks
Important:
In my reports, I assess the quality of care delivered to the patient using one of the statements described below:
1 – Quality of care meets standards of practice
2 – Medical management did not meet standards of care but was without consequences for the patient.
3 – Medical management did not meet standards of care and had the potential to cause anatomical or physiological impairment, disability, death, or unnecessarily prolonged treatment, complications, or admissions.
4 – Medical management did not meet standards of care. It led to a new disease or symptoms or worsened the existing condition. It resulted in physiological or anatomical impairment, disability or death, and unnecessarily prolonged treatment, complications, or admissions.