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LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
ON CALL PHYSICIANS
Tag No.: A2404
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Based on document review and interview, the facility failed to identify: (A) The individual physician assigned for on-call duty by name; and (B) The individual physicians assigned for on-call duty, in four (4) of ten (10) on-call services.
These failures placed patients at increased risk for delayed medical evaluation and treatment.
Findings for (A):
The facility's policy and procedure (P&P) titled, "Emergency Department On Call Coverage," last reviewed on 3/28/2022, stated "All specialties and groups will include the name of the physician on call for each day of the on-call period. It is not sufficient to just include the name of the group responsible for call. The name of the physician in the group or specialty must be included on the on-call list."
The Emergency Department's (ED) Radiologist On-Call Physician List, dated 12/1/2021 to 3/31/2022, listed the Radiology Service's group name, "Envision TeleRadiology Services," and not the individual physician's name assigned to on-call duty all days from 5:00PM to 8:00AM Monday through Friday, and from 4:00PM to 8:00AM Saturday and Sunday. The special instructions on the On-Call list directed staff to contact the Radioligy group for coverage during those times.
Per interview of Staff C (Chief Medical Officer) on 3/28/2022, at 11:50AM, Staff C stated that "All the radiologists are Envision staff and the group keeps a list of the physician staff available for coverage."
Findings for (B):
The facility's P&P titled, "Emergency Department On Call Coverage," last reviewed 3/28/2022, stated "All specialties and groups will include the name of the physician on call for each day of the on-call period."
The Physician On-Call Schedules, dated 12/1/2021 to 3/31/2022, identified gaps in four (4) of ten (10) service schedules, where no on-call physician was scheduled.
The facility's Radiologist On-Call Physician Lists had gaps of seventy (70) days in coverage, for sixteen (16) weeks listed as "No one on-call."
Similar findings were identified for the Physician On-Call Lists for the following services: Urology, Ophthalmology and Behavioral Health Services, for the same time period.
During interview of Staff C (Chief Medical Officer) on 3/28/2022 at 1:20PM, Staff C confirmed this finding and stated, it is "Not from a lack of trying."