Paid Reviews Cost Companies $175,000 Enforcement Action
Two companies have settled with the New York Attorney General’s Office after being accused of paying consumers for positive reviews by agreeing to increase their transparency and pay a total of $175,000. MedRite Care, LLC, a medical emergency care service, paid thousands of dollars to … Read more
How to Keep Lawyers from Circling Your Practice: Lessons for New Doctors
I am frequently invited to speak to medical students and residents. I’m often the first person to introduce them to the wonderful world of medico-legal headaches. It’s a topic they typically don’t think about while they’re studying and training. Why? It’s hard enough learning the … Read more
N=1. Congress Takes Action. Consumer Review Freedom Act
If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of Progress? Congress. It’s an old joke, but, what exactly did Congress just do? By unanimous consent, it passed the Consumer Review Freedom Act (H.R. 5111). As of this writing at year end, it … Read more
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
“No good deed goes unpunished” is an aphorism attributed to more than one origin -Oscar Wilde and Clare Booth Luce. The origin may be a mystery. Its meaning to an Iowa anesthesiologist is not. An obstetrician performed a C-section on a patient who was 35 … Read more
There’s a Fine Line Between Aggressive Questioning of a Witness and Being an A-Hole
The vast majority of doctors wake up every morning intending to do the best possible job for their patients. It’s in our DNA. If and when a patient experiences a complication, no one beats us up harder than we do ourselves. It gnaws at us. … Read more
When a Lawyer “Just Wants to Speak” to You
The office staff of Medical Justice member received an unexpected call the other day. A lawyer said he represented the estate of the practice’s recently deceased patient. The lawyer just wanted to ask the doctor a few questions. No other context. Zip. Nada. First, a … Read more
Positive Change Regarding Medical License Renewals
Medical license renewals have morphed over time to be quite involved. The Board of Medicine is charged with keeping the public safe. This includes making sure that licensees have no medical or mental health conditions which, with or without treatment, could impact taking care of … Read more
Your Patient Bolts in the Middle of a Treatment Plan. Now What?
Not all medical and dental procedures are completed in one setting. They are staged. A common example is a patient needs new teeth. Impressions are taken. Temporaries are placed. The lab fashions the new implants. They are placed down the road. Patients often pay upfront … Read more
A Carrier Tells Its Insured Doctor He’s Not Covered. WTF?
The reasonable interpretation of language in an insurance policy dictates its coverage. Sometimes the definition of a word can cost a carrier or an insured millions, if not billions. When the World Trade Towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack in 2001, there were a … Read more
Death and Donuts
When I was a resident, we had a weekly Morbidity and Mortality Conference. That was the euphemism for what most called it, Death and Donuts. That moniker was not meant to be disrespectful. It was merely an acknowledgement that death did happen at the hospital. … Read more
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