Doctors' Legal Forum - Medical Economics

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Doctors' Legal Forum
  • Liability issues after dismissing a patient


    I have a patient who has been noncompliant for several years and I have sent him a letter of dismissal. I still have not heard back regarding where he wants his medical records sent and he is on several medications that must be refilled soon. I'm sure he's going to try to request refills again after 30 days. One of his medications needs to be monitored closely and cannot be discontinued for any length of time if it is to remain effective. Can I be held liable in any way if I deny his request for refills after the 30 day period?

    When a patient refuses to take a test


    I have a patient who's been prescribed Warfarin. She has been asked repeatedly to go for PT-INR testing but refuses. The last testing several months ago required us to change her dose and I'm sure it will need adjusting again, but there is no way of knowing until I get results from the refused tests. I would think that I'd be held liable if I refill the medication and it causes bleeding or if it's ineffective, but I would think that I could be held liable for not refilling the medication, too! What do I do?

    U.S. Court in New Jersey Sides with Physician in Claims Case Against Insurer


    The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held August 8 that the plaintiff-physician?s payment claims against an insurer were not completely preempted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and thus remanded the case back to state court.

    First Amendment Does Not Exempt Physicians from Prohibition on Sexual Orientation Discrimination


    The Supreme Court of California held August 18 that the federal and state constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of religion do not exempt a physician from complying with the California Unruh Civil Rights Act's prohibition on sexual orientation discrimination.

    Massachusetts High Court Recognizes "Loss Of Chance" Recoveries In Medical Malpractice Actions


    The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held plaintiffs asserting medical malpractice in wrongful death actions could recover for "loss of chance" where defendant physicians' negligence reduced or eliminated their decedents? prospects for achieving a more favorable medical outcome.

    CMS Issues Rule Aimed At Reducing "Never Events"


    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has introduced new payment provisions to reduce so-called "never events" that occur in hospitals.

    Increasing Price Transparency Could Reduce Healthcare Costs, House Panel Told


    Increasing transparency in healthcare pricing could play an important role in reducing healthcare costs, Peter R. Orszag, Director, Congressional Budget Office (CBO), told the House Budget Committee.

    New National Scorecard Shows U.S. Health System Lagging


    The overall performance of the U.S. health system continues to lose ground, despite investing more resources than any other industrialized nation, according to a new 2008 National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance issued by the Commonwealth Fund this week.

    Medicare Advantage organizations had lower spending, higher profits than initial projections


    Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations saw profits of $1.14 billion above their initial projections in 2005 while, on average, spending less on medical expenses (85 percent of total revenue) than they anticipated (90.2 percent), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a recent report.

ADVERTISEMENT

Medical Economics issue
Stay connected to Medical Economics
Receive new issue alerts, technology bulletins, and conference updates!

ADVERTISEMENT

Click here