by Medical Justice | Apr 15, 2011 | Editorial
I must confess. I’m flattered. First I learn that a professor of Internet law at an Ivy League School referenced the Medical Justice agreements as a final exam question. I am a regular reader – and fan – of Eric Goldman’s cyber-law blog. Earlier this week, lo and behold, Professor Goldman featured Medical Justice on a site he’s created about us.
If you believe every argument Professor Goldman makes, you’d believe that all doctor review sites are wonderful, accurate and completely truthful. He won’t yield an inch in acknowledging that there might be a small problem with at least 1 of the more than 60 sites dotting the cyber-landscape. C’mon. Toss us a bone. (more…)
by Medical Justice | Apr 14, 2011 | Editorial
We search the web every day for interesting, relevant or unusual stories that would be of interest to physicians or could have an impact on their practices. This headline caught our eye;
Guess the Verdict to Support Your Favorite Charity
A New York personal injury law firm is running a contest – they give you the description of an actual personal injury or malpractice case and you guess the settlement. The closest guess to the actual settlement wins an iPad2. (more…)
by Medical Justice | Apr 13, 2011 | Editorial
Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.
Several years ago, the National Federation of the Blind filed a suit against the retail store, Target. The issue centered around Target’s website allegedly not being compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corp., 452 F. Supp. 2d 946 (N.D. Cal. 2006) challenged if the requirements that Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) imposes on places of public accommodation also applies to e-commerce websites. The plaintiffs were blind individuals who claimed the Target website discriminated against them since the website did not allow screen reading software. The case was the first lawsuit applying the ADA to a website that survived a motion to dismiss. The Target case was recently settled out of court for reportedly six million dollars.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) provides, “No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation….” 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a). Is a website a public place? There seems to be some strong arguments that a judge could say “Yes.” The issue may be settled by the Department of Justice. The DOJ is currently drafting ADA rules for websites. All of this means you should start thinking about making your website accessible to individuals with disabilities.
by Medical Justice | Mar 24, 2011 | Editorial
We recently returned from a meeting that included business advisors to doctors. One advisor stated that what we do impacts a trend that has made her particularly sad. This woman, in her 60’s, said she sees residents and fellows graduate from their programs, armed with the latest life-saving techniques, excited to “save the world.”
Invariably, within the first decade of their careers, they are sued, often for a frivolous reason. These once zealous idealists change—permanently. They view patients impersonally. And, they feel the constant need to protect themselves against the next threat. These same professionals, who once experienced unbridled joy at solving diagnosis challenges, curing disease, or even palliating discomfort, experience none of that. And if that feeling can no longer be restored, then they might as well be well paid for their trouble.
The advisor’s conclusion: Medical Justice substantively breaks this cycle. And while doctors will clearly benefit, the other beneficiaries are these doctor’s patients, who now have an empathetic doctor, someone who still cares about nailing the diagnosis, doggedly fighting for the cure, or providing a hand to hold and a soothing word when there is nothing else to offer.
Everyone at Medical Justice is proud to play an important role in crafting a landscape that makes it possible for member doctors to practice good medicine with peace of mind. The downstream effect is that their patients have good doctors who can concentrate on patients, not the fear of lawsuits.
by Medical Justice | Mar 14, 2011 | Editorial
Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS
The race to the bottom is accelerating. A new web site recently came to our attention. (We aren’t naming the site because we don’t want to direct any more traffic to the site than it deserves, which is ZERO. So we shall refer to it as thesitethatdeservesnottobenamed.)
One of our dentist members received an email from thesitethatdeservesnottobenamed bringing a post on that site to his attention. How thesitethatdeservesnottobenamed got the doctor’s email address is anyone’s guess.
OK. The details. (more…)
by Medical Justice | Mar 11, 2011 | Editorial
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? (more…)
