|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Archives
03/01/2003 - 04/01/2003 04/01/2003 - 05/01/2003 05/01/2003 - 06/01/2003 06/01/2003 - 07/01/2003 07/01/2003 - 08/01/2003 08/01/2003 - 09/01/2003 09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003 10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003 11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007 12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008 06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008 07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008 08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008 09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008 10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008 11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008 12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009 01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009 02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009 03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009 04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009 05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009 06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009 07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009 08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009 09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009 10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009 11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009 12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010 01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010 02/01/2010 - 03/01/2010 03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010  |
About these news links: Some on-line newspapers may require you to register by providing
Uninsured in Pennsylvania top 1 million The Morning Call, Allentown, PA (Associated Press) - Jan 30, 2009 ...Potential funding sources include part of a surplus from a state fund that helps doctors pay for medical malpractice insurance and a proposed new tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco... Lawsuit limit limit bill caps punitive awards at $250K The State, Columbia, SC (Associated Press) - Jan 29, 2009 ...Lawmakers capped lawsuit awards in medical malpractice cases in 2005. Martin's bill would expand the rules and apply new caps to all lawsuitsLawmakers capped lawsuit awards in medical malpractice cases in 2005. Martin's bill would expand the rules and apply new caps to all lawsuits... Opinion - Sally C. Pipes: Health-care budget realities Washington Times, DC - Jan 29, 2009 ...Limiting rewards in medical malpractice cases would also reduce health-care costs. Excessive malpractice judgments cost providers and patients hundreds of millions of dollars every year... Opinion - David J. Goldberg, MD, JD: Legal: Nursing errors: What is the physician's responsibility? Modern Medicine, NJ - Jan 29, 2009 ...The roles of nurses in medical offices, their liability, and a physician's resultant vicarious liability have changed much over the past century... Medical malpractice news
GOP works to find tort reform compromise The Journal Record, Oklahoma City, OK - Jan 29, 2009 ...“Tort reform, in my view, focuses on a few core issues,” said Coffee. “The first is joint and several liability.”... Texas SC sees growing problem with inadequate expert reports The Southeast Texas Record, Beaumont, TX - Jan 29, 2009 To the frustration of the Supreme Court of Texas, a state law requiring an expert report after the filing of a medical malpractice suit is increasingly rewarding weak reports... Opinion - Mark Epstein: Medical mazes St. Helena Star, CA - Jan 29, 2009 ...Dunham says that to the real cost of an operating table, for example, “300-400 percent is added for medical liability reasons.” When he told me this I wondered whether I could have signed a waiver and cut my cost. Creative, but difficult... Bill seeks to create state board of midwives Casper Star-Tribune, WY - Jan 28, 2009 ...Midwives do not have malpractice insurance, while obstetricians pay about $100,000 a year for coverage in case something goes wrong. The new bill offers immunity from liability for any provider who tends to a mother or baby after she has been cared for by a midwife... Medical malpractice news
Primary concern Erie Times-News, PA - Jan 28, 2009 ...Pennsylvania has been a tough sell to many physicians because the state has one of the country's highest average malpractice insurance premiums, and lowest average payments from private and government health insurers, Roeback said... Opinion - Mary Kate Cary: In favor of computerizing medical records U.S. News & World Report, Jan 27, 2009 ...Of course, like the teachers' union, there will be doctors' groups that oppose making information about positive outcomes public. But wouldn't you prefer to decide which doctor to use based on statistics like these rather than the only information we currently have: which doctors have had malpractice claims made against them?... Medical malpractice news
America's safest hospitals Forbes, NY - Jan 27, 2009 ...Though the company did not make a link between lower complication and mortality rates and lower premiums for medical malpractice insurance, improved safety rates may persuade underwriters to view the hospital as low-risk. They may also decrease the number of medical malpractice claims... Opinion - Quin Hillyer: Class-action lawsuit reform progresses in states The Examiner, DC - Jan 27, 2009 ...All these efforts show recognition that tort reform has worked superbly in states where it has been tried, especially ones formerly known as legal “hellholes” like Mississippi and Alabama... Medical malpractice news
Surgeons-for-hire ease ER loads The Tennessean, Nashville, TN - Jan 26, 2009 ...Often, staffing agencies that arrange such assignments keep at least a third of a doctor's pay and pick up malpractice insurance and other costs. Some physicians see benefits to the setup, saying it frees them from the bookkeeping headaches of running their own offices ... Clyburn doubtful health care reform will emerge from Congress this year Legal Newsline, DC - Jan 26, 2009 ...An industry group pushing Congress to overhaul the nation's health care system -- including medical malpractice laws -- got some grim news Sunday from a leading House Democrat... Opinion - Dr. Erik Steel: Crisis of health care Morning Sentinel, Portland, ME - Jan 25, 2009 ...A necessary fourth step is to ensure that hospitals and doctors be provided malpractice protection from getting sued when they follow evidence-based practice because it often will result in not doing unnecessary testing or procedures... Opinion - Blake D. Prescott, MD: 12 steps to health care reform Brattleboro Reformer, VT - Jan 24, 2009 ...1. Tort reform: Physicians spend tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for malpractice insurance premiums which are, as expected, passed on to the patient. Canada has an arbitration board to review and eliminate much of this... What Republicans must do Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - Jan 24, 2009 ...There were a lot of issues this last cycle that weren't touched upon that were missed opportunities. Medical malpractice -- that's a great issue for Republicans and you didn't hear anyone talk about it... Medical malpractice news
Health care group calls for tort reforms Legal News Line, DC - Jan 22, 2009 ...The American Medical Group Association, in its overall call for universal access to health care, said systemic changes, including medical malpractice tort reform, are needed to improve access and quality of medical care for Americans... Medical malpractice news
Committee considers caps on nursing home liability The Tennessean, Nashville, TN (Associated Press) - Jan 22, 2009 ...Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey has made malpractice caps for nursing homes part of his legislative agenda for the year. The Blountville Republican said limiting damages is necessary because he believes the industry is being targeted by lawyers... W.Va. physicians mutual pays off $24 million state loan Charleston Daily Mail, WV - Jan 21, 2009 ...The Legislature created the mutual to help doctors who were unable to buy malpractice coverage from private companies. It was launched in July 2004 under its former name, the West Virginia Physician's Mutual Insurance Company... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - E. Jackson Allison Jr.: Reform needed to bring and keep quality doctors in N.C. Asheville Citizen-Times, NC - Jan 21, 2009 ...While most patients might not realize it, the absence of strong medical liability reform all but guarantees the absence of a strong work force of physicians and other health care specialists. States like North Carolina that don't offer their physicians sound liability protection cannot expect to attract or retain good physicians... Einstein Medical Center expands maternity unit Philadelphia Business Journal, PA - Jan 20, 2009 ...Since 1997, 15 hospitals in the Philadelphia region have closed their maternity units, citing high malpractice insurance and low insurance reimbursements. In that time just one hospital, Jennersville Regional Hospital in southern Chester County, Pa., has opened a maternity department... Take Care Health clinics have roots here Philadelphia Business Journal, PA - Jan 20, 2009 ...Take Care Health’s network of 298 clinics, he said, have passed the 1 million patient mark and have never been subjected to any type of malpractice action... Opinion - Joel A. Harrison: Who deserves an organ transplant and who should decide? California Progress Report, CA - Jan 20, 2009 ...Malpractice insurance may increase costs in the U.S. compared to other nations; but is not remotely responsible for the high costs of U.S. health care... Opinion - Deborah Geer: Health-care costs need radical surgery The Citizen, Auburn, NY - Jan 19, 2009 ...Huge medical malpractice payouts and lack of torte reform have left physicians and hospitals paying huge insurance premiums. These costs are somehow going to be passed on to patient and to society as a whole... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - Dr. Jeff Hersh: Our health-care system is broken Norwich Bulletin, CT - Jan 19, 2009 ...Billions of dollars are spent on unnecessary tests, procedures and hospital admissions as "self-defense" by physicians against malpractice suits. A recent study found that 79 percent of doctors order more tests than medically indicated... Opinion - Arlene Wohlgemuth: Socialized medicine and the Massachusetts mess Mineral Wells Index, Mineral Wells, TX - Jan 19, 2009 ...Despite significant increases in the number of health professionals since the passage of medical liability reform in 2003, Texas remains in a shortage... Medical malpractice news
News in brief - Jan. 19, 2009: Wis. physicians rebuffed in effort to stop raid on liability fund American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Jan 19, 2009 ...A Wisconsin trial judge tossed out a challenge to stop what physicians say is an illegal raid on the state's medical liability compensation fund.... Emergency care system gets low grades American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Jan 19, 2009 ...The report also recommends federal and state medical liability reforms, more federal funding for disaster preparedness, better emergency medical services coordination, and improving quality and patient safety by using health information technology... Editorial: Message to surgeons: Cut it out The Oregonian, Portland, OR - Jan 19, 2009 ...Of the 58 hospitals in Oregon, 54 do surgery, and they could make this change immediately. They could begin using a cockpit-style checklist to prevent grief, glitches, misunderstandings, malpractice suits, save medical careers and save lives... Doctors push for medical liability reform KHNL-TV, Honolulu, HI - Jan 18, 2009 ...She blames the high cost of malpractice insurance and low reimbursement rates as the major factors in driving doctors away from Hawaii. She thinks medical liability -- or tort -- reform is the answer... Customer Service: Treating patients like valued customers: An achievable goal CRM Buyer - Jan 18, 2009 ...Problems can escalate. Patients are more likely to bring malpractice actions against a system or physician if they are not satisfied with how they have been treated and handled... Malpractice cost key to CMS's woes The Times Tribune, Scranton, PA - Jan 17, 2009 Community Medical Center is insured for large malpractice claims today, but the exorbitant price of liability insurance a few years ago led the facility to unsuccessfully roll the dice with minimal coverage... Medical malpractice news
Judgment could ruin CMC The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA - Jan 16, 2009 ...Determining how much malpractice coverage CMC should have had depends on many factors, including whether a state limits damages, and a hospital’s size and services, Mr. Orlikoff said... Health care providers weigh in on revisions to Delaware's system The News Journal, Wilmington, DE - Jan 16, 2009 ...Medical liability costs should not be borne solely by the providers, according to another principle. That way, Biasotto said, doctors will stop running unnecessary tests to shield themselves from lawsuits... Doctors group links electronically Business First of Buffalo, NY - Jan 15, 2009 ...According to HealtheLink, a national health information exchange system has the potential to reduce the cost of health care by billions of dollars annually, helping mitigate annual increases in health insurance premiums and reducing medical malpractice costs for physicians... Frugal session ahead for Tennessee lawmakers WDEF-TV, Chattanooga, TN - Jan 15, 2009 ...Should the budget not dominate the entire session, Republicans want to pass business friendly legislation, limit medical liability payments, and put education funding first... Medical malpractice news
In Hawaii, the doctor is always in _ online The Philadelphia Inquirer, PA (Associated Press) - Jan 15, 2009 ...They will earn about $25 to $30 per patient, a little less than half what they get for a typical in-office visit. Without the costly overhead of a doctor's office and malpractice insurance, the actual earnings from the online visit will be comparable, Schoenberg said... Protection provided by 'Apology' laws varies from state to state Modern Medicine, NJ - Jan 15, 2009 ...The researchers found that 36 states have enacted apology laws protecting voluntary disclosures of medical errors. In 28 states, the investigators found that apology laws prevent the use of expressions of sympathy, regret and condolence -- but not admissions of fault -- against the physician in subsequent litigation... Medical malpractice news
Georgia's Gov. Perdue wades back into tort reform The Augusta Chronicle, GA (Associated Press) - Jan 14, 2009 ...The measures would stick plaintiffs who sue companies with the legal fees if their lawsuits are dismissed early in the process and would make it more difficult for lawyers to file lawsuits against bio-tech companies with ties to Georgia... Doctor group seeks legislative changes in Texas health care News-Journal, Longview, TX - Jan 14, 2009 ...More doctors have practiced in Texas since 2003, when voters capped medical malpractice insurance liability at $250,000 through a constitutional amendment, according to the Dallas Morning News... Speaker vote blindsides GOP The Tennessean, Nashville, TN - Jan 14, 2009 ...Tuesday's political whirlwind, which opened the 106th General Assembly, may stop the GOP agenda in its tracks — one that was likely to include a raft of legislation favorable to business interests, such as tort reform and changes to medical malpractice laws... Opinion - Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D.: Medical liability reforms are needed USA TODAY - Jan 14, 2009 ...the 40% of claims that are meritless clog the judicial system and reduce physicians' time with patients. It is clear that medical liability reforms are necessary... Opinion - Bill Menezes: Capitol coverage The Denver Daily News, CO - Jan 14, 2009 ...Case in point: Reporting on a bill that would increase the cap on medical malpractice awards, The Denver Post on March 12, 2008, stated that Republican state Rep. Cory Gardner said the bill “was nothing other than Democratic payback to one of the party’s traditional support groups” and quoted him as calling it “the trial lawyer enrichment act.” ... Opinion - James Gill: Business finds state's legal climate chilly Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA - Jan 14, 2009 ...Now the Manhattan Institute weighs in, concluding that Louisiana needs to reform a justice system that has become a "magnet" for lawyers working the class-action dodge because tort reform has squeezed them out of Texas and Mississippi... Medical malpractice news
Surgeon shortage pushes hospitals to hire temps Wall Street Journal, NY - Jan 13, 2009 ...she was making roughly $135,000 annually and her practice was struggling to pay its overhead and malpractice insurance. Since shuttering her practice last spring and becoming a full-time surgeon-for-hire, Dr. Peppers says she's earned enough money to whittle her medical-school debt to below $100,000... Opinion - Thomas Sowell: Big Brother's malpractice Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - Jan 13, 2009 ...Pipes has explored the reality of government-controlled medical treatment in Canada and other countries... Medical malpractice news
Editorial: Covering up the options Las Vegas Sun, NV - Jan 12, 2009 ...As the Bush administration envisioned the rule, doctors and nurses who are opposed to abortions, birth control, emergency contraception, in vitro fertilization and other procedures could withhold information about those options from their patients, and not have to worry about being sued for malpractice... Medmal suits hit all-time low in Madison County The Telegraph, Alton, IL - Jan 11, 2009 The number of medical malpractice cases filed in Madison County was at an all-time low in 2008 in the wake of new local court rules, a state law capping damages and a barrage of publicity over doctors leaving the state... A healthy dose of insurance Barron's, NY - Jan 11, 2009 ...Doctors, he points out, have little choice but to buy malpractice insurance, and that has made for a $10 billion-a-year industry in the U.S.... Lawmakers face battle over malpractice law Union Leader, Manchester, NH - Jan 11, 2009 ...Lawmakers working to repeal a 2005 medical malpractice reform law they deem a failure face stiff opposition from the law's supporters, including doctors, hospitals and members of the insurance industry... Opinion - Leonard Sloane: 'Tort reform' not the answer for state's fiscal crisis The Delaware County Daily Times, Primos, PA - Jan 11, 2009 ...“Tort reform” doesn’t work. Texas is the national model for so called “tort reform,” but medical-malpractice insurance premiums there only went down by 1.2 percent. In our state... Medical malpractice news
Malpractice case heads to Georgia Supreme Court Gainesville Times, FL - Jan 9, 2009 ...The high court’s decision could have a lasting effect on medical malpractice lawsuits in Georgia and whether defendants can be excused for not foreseeing the impact of their acts... Opinion - Craig B. Clark: Physician groups should help guide health-care reform Des Moines Register, IA - Jan 9, 2009 ...Physician groups have an opportunity to proactively address the need for health-system reform by coordinating patient care, encouraging doctors to practice data-driven, high-quality medicine and addressing medical-liability concerns to increase the overall quality of health care Americans receive... Medical malpractice news
Economic crisis sickens hospitals Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, PA - Jan 8, 2009 ...Even before the economic downturn, Pennsylvania hospitals faced the challenges of growing uncompensated care; rising labor, technology and utility costs; ongoing high medical liability insurance costs; the cost of physician shortages; and Medicaid and Medicare underfunding... Coffee vows to circumvent governor, voters on tort reform The Journal Record, Oklahoma City, OK - Jan 8, 2009 ...My position is, if we’re not going to talk about tort reform, then we’ll work on the system. We’ll push forward a referendum that 13 other states have done, which will look at the cap on contingency fee cases.”... Editorial: Worker friendly? Review-Journal, Las Vegas, NV - Jan 8, 2009 ...But unlimited and unpredictable damage awards in medical malpractice litigation played a role in rising health care costs and even led doctors to flee many states without damage limits... Tenn. high court to rule on liability in medical cases Knoxville News Sentinel, TN - Jan 8, 2009 ...If Assistant Attorney General Robin Dixon prevails, out-of-state patients would find it difficult, if not impossible, to seek damages for malpractice by state-employed medical students... Changing medical malpractice cap will be difficult Lousiana Medical News, Lafayette, LA - Jan 7, 2009 ...Any effort to change Louisiana's medical malpractice cap will face a number of obstacles, not the least of which is finding a way to close the gap between the Patient Compensation Fund's (PCF) assets and its exposures... Medical malpractice news
Nevada medical board proposes patient testimony at doctor MSNBC/KRNV-TV (Associated Press) - Jan 7, 2009 ...The medical examiners' proposal also calls for establishing a time frame for resolving complaints. Determinations would have to be made within 90 days... Oregon lawmaker vows to fight fellow Democrats over med-mal liability Legal Newsline, Chicago, IL - Jan 6, 2009 ...One of the Oregon Legislature's leading advocates for health care reform says he will block tort overhaul legislation that does not protect all physicians in the state from potentially exorbitant malpractice payouts... Pa. hospitals struggling through recession Philadelphia Business Journal, PA - Jan 6, 2009 ...“Even before this fall’s economic downturn, Pennsylvania hospitals faced the challenges of growing uncompensated care; rising labor, technology, and utility costs; ongoing high medical-liability insurance costs; the cost of physician shortages; and Medicaid and Medicare underfunding,”... Medical malpractice news
Insurer lauds drop in malpractice claims The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA - Jan 6, 2009...A decision by the state’s largest medical malpractice insurer to return $10.3 million to policyholders for a second straight year is part of a national movement to lower malpractice rates, according to insurers... Washington worst in nation for emergency health care Issaquah Press, WA - Jan 6, 2009 ...According to the physicians’ group, Washington’s low grade for medical liability reflects two things: its lack of a liability cap on non-economic damages in malpractice suits, and its lack of a requirement that expert witnesses be of the same specialty as the defendant... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - Alex Rosenau: We must improve our emergency care The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Jan 5, 2009 ..Pennsylvania was 38th in medical liability reform, with the MCARE state insurance funding diversion yet to be corrected by Gov. Rendell. Access to care continues to be threatened by a growing shortage of primary care doctors and mental health professionals... Editorial: Do homework on health reforms DesMoines Register, IA - Jan 5, 2009 ...Limiting the amount of money an injured party can collect in a malpractice suit could reduce the cost of malpractice-insurance premiums, according to the CBO. But the effect would amount to less than 0.5 percent of health-care spending... Primary care shortage exists The Republican, Springfield, MA - Jan 4, 2009 ...In a pair of reports, the Massachusetts Medical Society has concluded the shortage of primary-care physicians is now at a "critical" level, several specialties are woefully undermanned and doctors are costing the health-care system more than a billion dollars a year as they seek to avoid being dragged into what the society calls a "dysfunctional" medical liability system... Medical malpractice news
Health care leaders converge, diverge on solutions for reform of system Charleston Regional Business Journal, Charleston, SC - Jan 2, 2009 ...In another financially tied issue, Johnson said a call for tort reform is necessary. As doctors become more concerned with litigation, they over-order tests, for example, driving up the cost of health care... Opinion - Jack Lenhart: Future of health care depends on innovation, new ideas The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Jan 2, 2009 ...The malpractice crisis has not left us, and its real cost lies in the cost of defensive medicine. Medicine is both an art and a science; nothing is ever certain. Every headache has a small chance of being an aneurysm... Allen tries again with medical malpractice reform Arizona Capitol Times, Phoenix, AZ - Jan 2, 2009 ...raises the bar of proof to “clear and convincing” evidence in emergency room medical malpractice cases. Lawmakers actually passed similar legislation in 2006 — only to be vetoed by Gov. Janet Napolitano. But the political dynamic has changed since the Nov. 4 election... Opinion - Paul Howard: The doctor is out Forbes, NY - Jan 2, 2009 ...The MMS estimates that defensive medicine costs the state a staggering $1.4 billion. Reducing litigation--through special medical courts or arbitration--would lower malpractice insurance premiums, increase doctors' take-home pay and improve their ability to offer quality health care to their patients... Hospitals face budget surgery Oceanside/Island Park Herald, Garden City, NY - Jan 2, 2009 ...The investment portfolios of many hospitals are shrinking because of the failing economy. Money that was used to pay for malpractice insurance and pensions is suddenly not there... Medical malpractice news
Trial lawyers: 'Hellholes' report unreliable The State Journal, Charleston, WV - Jan 1, 2009 ...Since both reports began, she insists, the state Legislature has enacted pro-defendant changes in the law, "most notably caps on medical malpractice damages, limits on joint and several liability, restrictions on lawsuits by out-of-state plaintiffs, and elimination of third-party bad faith claims against insurance companies."... |
 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
