Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled that the medical malpractice statutes of the state cover a patient’s death from a spider bite. Classie Reed was a patient at the Omaha Health Care Center when she was bitten by a brown recluse spider. The spider bite ultimately resulted in Ms. Reed’s death. At issue is whether the claim was one that resided in medical malpractice or in ordinary negligence.
From the Medical Board of California The Board has been advised that several physicians in the Los Angeles area have been contacted by an individual impersonating an Investigator with the Medical Board of California. The individual asks physicians for their social security number and a credit card number, threatening cancellation of their license. This individual … Read more
Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS
CNN.com recently reported the case of Elaine Farstad. An IT specialist from Everett, WA, who became angry when her physician was late for a scheduled appointment, Ms. Farstad calculated her hourly wage rate and billed her doctor for the time she had to wait – to the tune of $100. Interestingly, her doctor sent her a check for the full amount.
In fact, many practitioners are now using cash, gifts or credit for future appointments to “compensate” patients for time spent in waiting rooms.
Playing The Odds: Hedge Funds Finance Medical Malpractice Claims Has Wall Street gone too far? Forbes.com Medical Justice CEO Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS, General Counsel Mike Sacopulos and Wayne Oliver, Vice President of the Center for Health Transformation examine an alarming new trend – financing malpractice suits through hedge funds. “Investors are always looking … Read more
School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota Paper: Physician-Rating Websites are Biased in Picking Doctors, Exaggerating Consumer Opinions, Says Paper to be Presented at INFORMS Healthcare Conference June 2011
For several years, Medical Justice has made the case that most doctor rating sites have several fundamental flaws; many lack statistically a significant sample size of patient ratings which impacts the quality of information available to consumers. Doctors see between 1,000 to 3,000 patients a year, depending on specialty. Yet, most doctors only have a handful of online ratings. A paper, “The Information Value of Online Physician Ratings”, being presented at a healthcare conference sponsored by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®) supports this point.
“The Information Value of Online Physician Ratings” is co-authored by Ritu Agarwal, professor of information systems and director of the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems, Guodong “Gordon” Gao, assistant professor, and PhD candidate Brad Greenwood, of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, along with Jeffrey McCullough of the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota.
The authors investigated potential biases among Internet users rating general practitioners on websites. In particular, the study looked at which doctors patients chose to rate, how they rated those doctors and the intensity of the patients’ opinions.
Agarwal states, that physicians are concerned whether “these ratings a true measure of clinical quality.” Or are they just the rantings of a disgruntled minority.
Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.
According to a poll conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians, nearly half of emergency physicians, 44 percent, say the biggest obstacle to cutting costs in emergency departments is overcoming the fear of lawsuits. The poll, made up of 1,800 emergency physicians, also found that more than half of physicians, 53 percent, state that the reason they conduct the number of tests they do is due to the fear of being sued.
The study also stated that specialists cite the fear of being sued as one of the top reasons they will not treat emergency patients.
Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.
Westlaw Journal recently reported that a judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Duluth neurologist who claimed he was defamed by a patient’s son that criticized his bedside manner.
Dr. David McKee alleged in his lawsuit that Dennis Laurion of Duluth made false statements about McKee’s treatment of Laurion’s father to the American Academy of Neurology, St. Luke’s Hospital, colleagues and several internet websites that “solicit physician reviews and ratings.” Laurion alleged McKee failed to treat his father with dignity following a stroke. Further, Laurion posted that McKee treated his father as a “task and charting assignment.”
Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Volume 16, Number 2, Summer 2011 By: Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD, and Michael Sacopulos, JD Download legal_consequences_of_physician_employment
Florida Medical Magazine 2011, Summer By: Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD, FACS, et al.and Michael Sacopulos, JD Last week, I received a Groupon alert for a local restaurant I like. For those of you living under a rock, Groupon is a social networking group discount program. Here’s how it works. A local merchant, like a restaurant … Read more
Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.
Last week my wife was approached by a woman that does microderm treatments and other facial services. “Would you serve as my doctor for getting Botox? I can give the injections. I just need you to get the Botox for me. It will be fun!” exclaimed the woman. My wife, an optometrist, declined and tried to point out the dangers associated with injecting a neurotoxin into someones head. Undaunted, the woman stated, “No problem. Someone will get me the Botox. I have three treatments already scheduled for Friday.”
I fear that this was not a unique situation.
