A new study, published in the Annals of Surgery, has determined that elderly nursing home residents may suffer more complications from major operations than other people their age. Based on more than 70,000 nursing home residents, and 1 million non-institutionalized Medicare enrollees 65 years and older, it is being reported…
You suffer an injury and need surgery. You have to rely on your surgeon to play it straight with you. Besides a second opinion, never a bad idea, what else can you do? Far down on your list of fears: not getting the surgery the doctor tells you that you…
Over 36 million Americans are currently over the age of 65. By 2050, that number is expected to raise to 86.7 million. We have an estimated 1.4 million residents living in 16,000 nursing homes in the United States. Incredible statistics. This problem did not sneak up on us. We all…
According to a recent article published in the “Journal of the American College of Radiology,” the rapid growth of diagnostic testing appears to be placing physicians at greater risk for medical malpractice claims. The reason: test communication failures. As clinical evaluation often depends on diagnostic tests, it is imperative that…
The strict locality rule requires doctors to apply the standard of care specific to the community in which the medical care was given. This doctrine began after the Civil War where courts were loathe to apply the same standards to country doctors as they would to urban doctors that have…
Most hospitals have three categories of doctors practicing medicine in their hospital: (1) a doctor who has privileges at that hospital; (2) salaried employees and (3) independent contractors. In emergency rooms in Maryland, most of the doctors that are providing treatment are independent contractors. Of course, patients don’t know this.…
The National Practitioner Data Bank (for short: NPDB) is an electronic repository containing doctors’ malpractice settlements and judgments that the feds have maintained for 15 years. It also includes adverse peer review actions against licenses, clinical privileges, and professional society memberships of physicians and other health care providers and Medicare…
Unless you are in the health care profession or dealing with the health care profession, it is hard to appreciate the deference given to medical records. Doctors believe – correctly in most cases – that looking at a patient’s medical records can tell you exactly what should come next in…
…Because even Texas Governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry thinks so. In his quest to win the Republican presidential nomination, Perry giddily brags about the putative benefits of malpractice and other tort reforms that have effectively choked serious malpractice victims in Texas. But even Governor Perry agrees that tort reform…
A Massachusetts appellate court ordered a new trial after the trial court had granted a doctor’s motion for a directed verdict in a medical malpractice case. Classic malpractice case. Patient goes to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist who diagnoses a voice disturbance and reflux esophagitis. Patient gets speech…