Medical Malpractice

> Michigan hospital regulators have re-affirmed rules which require hospitals to perform at least 300 open-heart surgeries a year to maintain their programs. Read more...

Sure, there's an AMA affiliate doing business in the state--plus about 30 other medical trade groups. But that hasn't stopped a group of New Jersey doctors from creating a new physicians' advocacy... Read more...

> Tenet's chief medical officer has announced that she's leaving to take a similar position at Partners Community Healthcare in Boston. Read more...

> The state's hospital industry has come out in favor of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's health reform plans. Read more...

An Illinois law capping medical malpractice judgments is about to face a challenge. The law, which has been around for two years, limits judgments against doctors for noneconomic damages to $500,000... Read more...

> Connecticut approved a plan that should almost triple the state's Hospital Hardship Fund for 2008. The new fund should include $30 million, up from $11 million for fiscal 2007. Article

> HMOs could boost monthly premiums 14.1 percent in 2008, the biggest rate increase in four years. …

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Welcome to malpractice in the Internet era. In what may be a first, a Massachusetts physician has agreed to settle a case after admitting in court that he'd written a series of scathing blog entries about participants in his ongoing trial. Pediatrician Robert Lindeman was defending himself against a suit involving the death of 12-year-old Jaymes Binns, who passed away from complications of diabetes in 2002. Along the way, apparently, he was blogging about the case under the pseudonym …

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A new bill has been introduced in the Senate which could have a substantial effect on how medical malpractice claims are handled. The bill, introduced by Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), would prompt states to establish "health courts" or other alternative means of resolving med mal disputes. Under the proposed legislation, 10 states or more would get up to $500,000 in …

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It's a shame that such things are necessary, but there's no getting around it--malpractice liability counts when doctors speak with the families of deceased patients. Hoping to make the task just a bit easier, Hawaii has passed a bill allowing doctors to express sympathy and offer condolences without fearing that their gesture can be used against them in court. On the other hand, the new law's language specifically notes that a doctor's apology or admission of fault can indeed by used …

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Now here's an encouraging note. Having raised rates 90 percent only three years ago, Connecticut medical mal insurer The Medical Protective Co. has set plans to cut rates an average of 24.2 percent next year, as well as insuring more physicians. The company, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, needs approval from the state's insurance department to make the cut, but if it does, the change will take effect on August 1. Connecticut malpractice rates began falling two …

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