The close relationship between Americans and “the neighborhood doctor” is a strong piece of American mythology. People implicitly trust physicians to use their specialized training to make decisions patients may not fully understand, but always trust. At least, that’s the way things used to be. These days, the atmosphere has changed for the worse; some patients no longer trust physicians and physicians sometimes resent their patients. The question is: why?
Legal
Are You Making the #1 Physician Financial Mistake?
David B. Mandell, JD, MBA and Jason M. O’Dell, CWM
As authors of 4 books for physicians, including our latest, For Doctors Only: A Guide to Working Less & Building More
, we have consulted with thousands of doctors of all specialties during the last decade. From this experience, we have become intimately familiar with the mistakes physicians make when working with their CPAs, attorneys, and other financial advisors. Whether it is in the area of tax, asset protection, retirement planning, or other areas, the result is almost always the same. We leave the meetings or conference calls asking ourselves, “How could this doctor get such [poor, uncreative, or just plain wrong] advice?” It would be laughable if it weren’t so troubling.
, we have consulted with thousands of doctors of all specialties during the last decade. From this experience, we have become intimately familiar with the mistakes physicians make when working with their CPAs, attorneys, and other financial advisors. Whether it is in the area of tax, asset protection, retirement planning, or other areas, the result is almost always the same. We leave the meetings or conference calls asking ourselves, “How could this doctor get such [poor, uncreative, or just plain wrong] advice?” It would be laughable if it weren’t so troubling.It is not surprising that physicians do not get the value they should out of their professional advisors. While the typical specialty physician has nearly 25,000 hours of training in his/her profession, there is a grand total of zero hours of training in business or financial issues related to the “business” of being a doctor. After learning how to utilize specialists in other areas of medicine, doctors receive no training in how to choose or evaluate the advisors whose advice and experience will be the backbone of the doctor’s financial plan for his entire career.
Doctors lack the spare time and training to do their own planning and have literally no training on how to find and evaluate the right specialists to assist them, so it is no wonder that most are ill-served by their professional advisors. To be honest, it is actually surprising when we meet a physician who is financially savvy or is properly advised by a team of professional advisors. In our experience, fewer than 5% of physicians are properly advised by a professional team.
The Two Fatal Flaws Of Physician-Advisor Relationships
New Research Project
Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.
It was tennis star Andre Agassi that said “Image is everything.” Okay, he overstated it, but Andre did have a point.
Image matters. But does it matter for an expert review of a patient’s chart in evaluating a potential medical malpractice case? The answer is no one knows…yet.
As general counsel for Medical Justice, I thought it might be useful to the members to offer tips on charting.
Voir Dire – Jury Selection Process
Voir Dire – Medical Malpractice Jury Selection Process
Joseph Horton, MD
They called me for jury duty last week. As luck had it, there was only one jury trial in court and I didn’t get picked for it. But since I find the experience instructive—and symptomatic of much that I believe to be wrong with our judicial system—I’d like to share the story of what happened Monday.
We entered Judge Harrington’s courtroom where the trial was to be held. Standing next to the bench was a chart that asked each potential juror to state his or her name, address, occupation, name of spouse and spouse’s occupation, and number of children. No clue why they were interested in offspring, but hey—why not? I admitted that I’m a surgeon and a board member of Medical Justice, and that I have a son who also is a physician. I don’t know a huge amount about statistics, but it fascinated me that, of the 33, there were also 5 registered nurses, 4 of whom were currently practicing, plus one who had retired. There was also a fireman with good knowledge of CPR and EMT.
Gone But Not Forgotten: The Curious Dormancy of Metadata
Gone But Not Forgotten: The Curious Dormancy of Metadata
Peter G. Yelkovac, Attorney at Law
Medical students are taught that certain viruses tend to take refuge in cells and live a latent existence long after symptoms have cleared. In many cases, such viruses remain dormant for the life of the patient. In other cases, they may spring back to life at an inopportune time.
Nearly every technologically literate person knows that viruses can attack a computer. Fortunately, such attacks are easily eradicated by automatic protection programs that capture and expel the offender forever. Few computer users, however, are aware that the mere use of a computer may create different type of organisms which, like a virus in a human cell, are not so easily discarded.
Limits on Malpractice Damages Unconstitutional
Louisiana Court of Appeals Rules Limits on Malpractice Damages Unconstitutional The Louisiana Court of Appeals ruled last month that the state’s limits on malpractice damages violated the constitution. The Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, which caps damages general damages at $500,000, was ruled to be unconstitutional on November 17, 2010 in Oliver v. Magnolia Clinic (WL … Read more
Gamble Big and Lose, Sue, Collect Big Check
Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS, CEO Medical Justice
Gamble Big and Lose. Then Sue Big Pharma. Then Collect Big Check. No Kidding.
To those who plan to go to Vegas and gamble, here’s how to cut your losses – even win big. The secret: Pramipexole. Stay with me on this.
Pramipaxole, to refresh, is a dopamine agonist used for early stage Parkinson’s disease. It also treats restless legs syndrome. There’s more. It is currently being investigated to treat clinical depression and fibromyalgia. Pramipaxole is sometimes used off label to treat cluster headache and to counteract problems with sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants. Finally, it is currently being investigated for the treatment of clinical depression and fibromyalgia. A veritable cornucopia of treatments.
Back to the hedge against gambling losses.
The Runaway Jury in the Age of Mark Zuckerberg
Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq. General Counsel, Medical Justice
In most law schools around our country, second year students take “Evidence.” This is a technical class which teaches one rule and its exemptions after the next. What information is privileged and not, the hearsay rule and its dozen exceptions, relevant versus irrelevant testimony, and waivers all make up a body of law whose origins date back centuries to English common law. Rising above the trees to look at the forest, the general idea is to determine what information is fair and reliable to present to a jury. The thought goes that some information is simply too prejudicial or unreliable to be presented to a jury. At their core, the rules of evidence control information heard by jurors. Well, it seems that there may be some new rules…
New Year’s Resolutions
By now, holiday libations are a fading memory, and the time has come to buckle down and get back to work in this new year. There will be ample challenges ahead for each of us. While there has been positive motion in the past year, it seems there’s always more to come.
New Year’s Resolutions are often forgotten when the first week of that new year commences. Though made with the best of intents, we simply become too busy, too embroiled in the day to day aspects, or too distracted by new events, to focus upon them and turn them into meaningful changes. But those resolutions were worthwhile, and deserve a fair attempt. Whether yours was to lose weight, be more conscientious about getting ample sleep, to be more considerate of others, to put away more savings, to be more careful about something… no matter what it may be, we can all benefit from a few strategically placed reminders.
Time: Your Most Valuable Resource
The most valuable asset any physician has is time. This is true in terms of both his or her personal income, and also as pertains to the ability to help the community around him. So time management is amongst the most significant ways in which one can improve one’s practice. But neither doctor nor patient wants to be short-changed in an office visit. Here are a few suggestions on ways to optimize your time:
