This article in yesterday’s The Washington Post reported that 96% of physicians thought that they should report an impaired or incompetent colleague – but 45% said that they did not always do so. In addition, "46 percent said they had failed to report at least one serious medical error that…
The Georgia Supreme Court has refused to strike down that state’s statute of repose in medical malpractice cases when challenged on equal protection grounds. Georgia has a five-year statue of repose in medical malpractice cases (Tennessee has a three-year statute of repose). The case is Nichols v. Gross, S07A1027 (…
An article in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at closed malpractice claims to see what caused the errors made by medical trainees. A summary of the findings: "Among 240 cases, errors in judgment (173 of 240 [72%]), teamwork breakdowns (167 of 240 [70%]), and lack of technical competence (139…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that an arbitration provision in a nursing home contract signed by a person who had a power of attorney to act on behalf of the resident is not void as against public policy. However, the court remanded the case to the trial court for…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal in two cases that address the issue of apparent agency. In both cases plainitffs seek to impose liability on a hospital for the acts of a doctor. The cases have been consolidated for appeal. One case is DeWald v. HCA Heatlh…
The LA Times makes an extraordinary effort here to tell the story of the death of a woman in a local hospital – and how it could have been prevented.
Medicare is no longer going to pay hospitals from costs arising from "preventable errors" and "serious preventable events." What are preventable errors? The Washington Post story on the subject says this: "bedsores, or pressure ulcers; injuries caused by falls; and infections resulting from the prolonged use of catheters in blood…
From a full-page ad in yesterday’s Knoxville’s Sunday News Sentinel: Last year, Covenant Health hospitals saved the lives of 752 people who would not have lived at average hospitals. According to U.S. government data, quality care makes a life-saving difference for patients at Covenant Health hospitals. By being far better…
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has just released on opinion on the issue of the ability of non-physician health care professionals to own and operate a medical practice and to employee physicians. Here are the two specific issues addressed: "1. Considering the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 63-6-204(b), 68-11-205(a),…
How much transparency should there be in health care? In commerce in general? Senator Grassley wants transparency in medicine – he has introduced legislation that is designed to require drug companies to disclose what they pay doctors. Read about the legislation in this article from the New York Times. The…