State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company’s Winter 2008-09 quarterly newsletter, Risk Points, has an interesting article discussing the diagnosis of appendicitis. This illness occurs in 250,000 people in the United States every year, and the mortality rate increases 500% if the appendix ruptures. A sample from the article: "Thus clinicians should focus on…
The Tennessee Medical Malpractice Reporting Act found at Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 56-54-101, et seq. went into effect on January 1, 2009 and replaced statutes regarding similar previous reporting requirements. Bold the old and new statute require that lawyers report all medical malpractice settlements and judgments obtained in calender year 2008. The…
There is a great article in today’s New York Times titled "Simple Checklist Makes Surgery Safer." An excerpt: "a year after surgical teams at eight hospitals adopted a 19-item checklist, the average patient death rate fell more than 40 percent and the rate of complications fell by about a third, the researchers…
According to the Tennessean. Tennessee nursing homes rank No. 48 (beating only Louisiana and Georgia), according to new survey information out from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Less than 7% of the nursing homes in Tennessee were rated above average. The paper reports that "[o]f the 40 nursing…
Many plaintiff’s lawyers from across the state received assessments from the Department of Commerce and Insurance for failure to report data concerning medical malpractice settlements and judgments received during the prior year. Many of the penalities approach $20,000 and, as one lawyer told me, the penality he has been assessed…
The U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services has a website that delivers information on how well hospitals care for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures, and the results of a survey of patients about the quality of care the patients received during a recent hospital stay. The…
The Federation of State Medical Boards has a website that allows you to order professional information on physicians and physician assistants. The reports include infomoration about disciplinary sanctions, education, medical specialty, licensure history and locations. The cost of each report is $9.95. Go the this site to place an order.…
The Administrative Office of the Courts has released the form that must be filed by plaintiffs in medical negligence cases (and by defendants who allege fault of another health care provider). Both forms are available here. In general, a plaintiff must file the certificate within 90 days after filing suit.…
The Tennessee State Board of Medical Examiners has a policy about prescribing drugs. It applies to any prescription written for a patient, whether in person, electronically, or over the Internet. The policy includes the following: (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be a prima facie violation of…
Nursing homes continue to attempt to avoid trial by jury by requiring residents to sign arbitration ageements. And the Tennessee courts continue to insist that if nursing homes are going to do so they must follow the law. Here are two decisions that refuse to enforce arbitration provisions in nursing…