Shaw & Associates

Insuring Yourself Against Liability Claims is Costly

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:09:22 +0000

Because of the high level of liability many doctors face in today’s lawsuit-happy society, more doctors find themselves paying for costly medical liability insurance. Unfortunately, the costs for these insurance premiums have continued to increase. In many states, these premiums are much higher than they were during actual medical liability crises.

To learn more about insurance increases, click here.

Corporate Structure: Texas Becomes First State to Pass Statutes Protecting Physicians’ Clinical Judgment

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:04:38 +0000

Texas has become the first state to allow limited corporate practice of medicine with carefully controlled expansions for physician employment in the form of preserving physicians’ medical judgment.

Hospital-run nonprofit health care corporations, known as 501a corporations, have been and still remain widely banned across the country, with exception to general hospitals. The new expansions on corporate medicine practice include strong protections for clinical autonomy and independent medical judgment.

To learn more, click corporate structure .

The Facts on Restrictive Covenants in Physician Contracts

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:04:18 +0000

When a physician is terminated, he or she may be barred from practicing in a particular geographic area for a specific period of time. This is called a restrictive covenant and is a contractual provision between the employer and physician that exists in most physician contracts. These covenants exist as protective means for the employer and work in two ways: To safeguard his or her patient bases and referral sources from outside competition, and to encourage the physician to stay with the employer.

While restrictive covenants are common, their enforceability remains a frequently litigated issue due to developing public policy concerns.

To learn more, click physician contracts include a restrictive covenant.

New Texas Bill for Government Covered Entities To Take Effect September 2012

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:03:56 +0000

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the federal Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) work together to ensure Protected Health Information (PHI). However, a new bill, H.B. 300 was signed into law after concerns arose that these two acts weren’t doing enough to safeguard Protective Health Information (PHI).

The Texas legislature passed the H.B. 300 in 2011, which will go into effect Sept. 1, 2012, creating several new requirements for what constitutes a “covered entity,” and what these government covered entities are required to provide for patients in terms of privacy.

To learn more, click government entities.

When medical staff membership tangles with hospital employment: How to protect your physicians’ rights and privileges

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:03:38 +0000

Physicians need to know what’s in their contract and get educated about what rights they do and don’t have as employees of a hospital.

Find answers to your contract.

Product Liability: How doctors and Manufacturers Point Fingers

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:03:19 +0000

Many liability suits are the result of physician errors during a procedure. However, when a physicians use a medical device they believe they are familiar with and something goes wrong, who is to blame–the physicians, or the device manufacturers? This is where the line can get blurry. In many product liability cases involving a medication or device, doctors claim they were unaware of changes made to the medication’s instructions or to the allowed uses for a device.

Doctors are responsible for acquiring information about changes to medication instructions, and other doctors, nurses and patients can help make information transfers more successful. But should medication companies and device manufacturers also be responsible for updating physicians?

Click on product liability to learn more.

Does Medical Peer Review Uphold the Highest Quality of Patient Safety and Medical Care?

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:02:56 +0000

Peer review occurs when a professional review body meets to consider if, or how, a practitioner’s clinical privileges or membership in a professional society will be affected by his or her professional abilities or conduct. The objective of this process is to uphold the highest quality of patient safety and medical care.

Doctors are required to know in advance if their performance will face a peer review. State and federal law protects the participants in the peer review body as an incentive for physicians and others to participate in the process.

Find out how the peer reviewprocess works!

Staying Current with Regulations and Compliance Efforts

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:02:13 +0000

Risks are unavoidable for physicians and patients, especially when regulations, increasing health care costs and new technologies are constantly being tacked onto the health care industry. In order to avoid the risks associated with the constant increase in regulations, doctors should do their best to stay up-to-date with their compliance efforts.

Various compliance topics exist, including physician compliance, compliance and risk management, compliance planning, federal fraud enforcement and physician compliance, and compliance management.
To learn more about regulatory compliance, click here.

For more information, click on Are You Current with Regulatory Compliance?

Premise Liability Protects Doctors and Keeps a Safe Environment for Patients

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:01:44 +0000

Premise negligence relates to a hospital or medical facility’s failure to maintain a safe environment for its patients. A medical professional is responsible for a patient’s safety while in his or her facility, but is the physician liable if a third party poses a risk of danger or violence to his or her patients?

Click on premise liability and learn how to keep your environment safe for patients.

Doctors Struggle with Top Stressor, Malpractice Suits

Allison — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:00:14 +0000

The idea of being faced with a medical malpractice suit is enough to send any physician into anxiety. In fact, it is one of the top stressors that physicians face on a regular basis.

A recent study revealed that one in four surgeons find themselves in the middle of medical liability litigation. While most of these suits never reach court, they still cost $55 billion in health care costs annually. Furthermore, surgeons who have recently gone through a malpractice lawsuit often come out with depression, emotional exhaustion, low confidence and even suicidal thoughts.

As a way to counter the negative findings of the study, the researchers recommend improving communication between patients and doctors so that patients better understand the underlying risks of any procedure, despite the doctor’s best efforts.