Dealing with obesity, bariatric technology and avoiding being sued
Bill Contoyannis
REHAB Tech Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Monash University
The process of selecting components and/or devices that have not been tested and those used in situations for which they have not been designed is the same. This includes the use of devices on clients beyond the load limit indications or recommendations of the device.
With the increase in awareness of the load limitations and standards tested limits of devices coinciding with an increase in awareness of the growing obesity trend, a lot of emphasis has been put on finding technology that has been "tested" or recommended to greater load limits than in the past. Whilst this seems to be an obvious solution, it rarely meets all the requirements of these situations and almost never offers any reduction to the client's safety or the possibility of the practitioner being litigated against.
In terms of the technology there are generally three options available in these circumstances.
- Standard components and/or devices: which may or may not have been tested top the load limits required
- Modified components and/or devices: "heavy duty" or other recommended versions
- Customised components and/or devices: ground up designs specifically for the situation that is being addressed
As important as the device selection however is the client management, device history management and incident investigations/alerting systems that are in place. The management process rather than the device selection is the overriding consideration and a strict process needs to be in place to ensure the client safety and reduce practitioner litigation.
The replacement of a device that did not meet load requirements with one that does, will only satisfy one requirement of the client's management. The issues of client understanding of the function of the new device, inability of the new device to address known historical problems or even worse, the new device exacerbating a known problem is far more likely to create a problem for the client or a lawsuit for the practitioner than the issue of load limits.
Case studies involving technology selection, management and litigation will be presented and a process for managing these scenarios will be outlined.
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