Malpractice

In which John discusses the complicated reasons why the United States spends so much more on health care than any other country in the world, and along the way reveals some surprising information, including that Americans spend more of their tax dollars on public health care than people in Canada, the UK, or Australia. Who's at fault? Insurance companies? Drug companies? Malpractice lawyers? Hospitals? Or is it more complicated than a simple blame game? (Hint: It's that one.) For a much more thorough examination of health care expenses in America, I recommend this series at The Incidental Economist: http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/what-makes-the-us-health-care-system-so-expensive-introduction/ The Commonwealth Fund's Study of Health Care Prices in the US: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Issue%20Brief/2012/May/1595_Squires_explaining_high_hlt_care_spending_intl_brief.pdf Some of the stats in this video also come from this New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/health/colonoscopies-explain-why-us-leads-the-world-in-health-expenditures.html?pagewanted=all This is the first part in what will be a periodic series on health care costs and reforms leading up to the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in 2014.  

Medical Protection Society Website  

Nearly three quarters of US doctors responding to a new poll said that ordering unnecessary tests and procedures was a serious problem.1 And 91% said that an effective way to reduce the ordering of such procedures and tests would be through changes to malpractice law.  

Has your Child suffered from a birth injury or defect due to medical malpractice. If so your baby can receive compensation. (855) 385-2529  

Our Los Angeles medical malpractice attorney assists victims treated by a doctor or hospital that lead to devastating and serious injuries or death.  

Swimming pool accidents are often the result of negligence, where the owner or operator of the pool is liable for the damages under premises liability.  

A survey of emergency physicians provides insight into reasons behind the estimated $210 billion spent annually on medically unnecessary tests and procedures.  

The results of a new survey find that neurosurgeons operate in a climate of fear from potential malpractice suits, with 80% admitting to practicing defensive medicine  

Changing laws to make it more difficult to sue physicians for medical malpractice may not reduce the amount of 'defensive medicine' practiced by physicians, according to a new RAND Corporation...  

About 28 percent of the orders for three services at three hospitals were judged to be at least partially defensive by the physicians who ordered them.  

A Connecticut hospital saw a 50% drop in malpractice liability claims and payments when it made patient safety initiatives a priority by training doctors and nurses to improve teamwork and...  

The expansion of health insurance accomplished under the Affordable Care Act may alter costs for several major types of liability insurance, although any such changes are likely to be modest...  

The recent SGR bill passed by Congress contains a provision that protects physicians from lawsuits based solely on a certain type of data.  

The recent SGR bill passed by Congress contains a provision that protects physicians from lawsuits based solely on a certain type of data.  

Appendicitis is the most frequent surgical emergency in children, peaking in incidence at 9-12 years of age.  Left untreated, obstruction of this recess can lead to perforation in 36 hours with increased morbidity.  Because delayed diagnosis may impart long term consequences, it is also one of the most frequently successful malpractice claims against emergency physicians (Ma 2008).  

Why we do what we do has returned – this time focusing on the use of ultrasound in appendicitis, which has become the test de rigeur these days in most Pediatric Emergency Departments. I won’t belabor the point on how important it is to correctly diagnose appendicitis. It peaks between ages 9-12, and can lead to perforation within 36-72 hours. Missed appendicitis is also one of the biggest causes of filed malpractice claims.  

UK government plans to cap legal fees in clinical negligence claims: The UK government is proposing to fix legal costs for claimants’ lawyers in cases of claims up to £100 000 (€140 000; $160 000) so that the lawyer’s fee reflects a percentage of the patient’s compensation. Currently there is no limit on legal fees that can be charged, meaning that lawyers can be paid far more than the patient gets in compensation. The plan, which the government says will save the NHS up to £80m a year, has been welcomed by the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland and the Medical Defence Union.  

The NHS in England paid out over £1.1bn for negligence claims in 2014/2015, new figures show.  

Medical negligence and the distribution of substandard and toxic drugs led to the deaths of 13 women taking part in a government run mass sterilisation programme in India in November 2014, a report has found.  

Rates rose 0.3% for three bellwether specialties, mostly in the South. Low claims frequency and stockpiles of insurance company cash will maintain downward pressure on premiums, according to a new report.