News: Medical Malpractice Insurance and Physician Practices

side note: We pride ourselves on being advocates for Physicians and were displeased to see the personal trial lawyers of Illinois get handed a victory by the state’s Supreme Court. This will probably lead to more frivolous lawsuits against good physicians. The tort reform bill signed into law in 2005 had kept rates from rising and allowed physicians and other health care professionals to continue to practice without the fear of astronomical rates. Once again….we’re back to the drawing board. We are encouraging all Illinois Physicians to contact their Med-Mal providers, you can contact us here, and get a quote and lock in their rates.

By KEVIN SACK
The New York Times

In a case that could resonate in Washington, the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the state’s five-year-old medical malpractice law because it limited compensation to injured patients for pain, suffering and other non-economic harms.

The ruling came down as federal proposals to cap malpractice awards are receiving fresh attention on Capitol Hill. Republicans enthusiastically support the limits, and they are seen as a potential vehicle for restarting the stalled health care negotiations in Congress with bipartisan impetus. Neither the House bill that Democrats passed late last year nor its Senate counterpart included significant changes to medical malpractice regulations.

In a 4-to-2 ruling, the Illinois court wrote that the legislature, in enacting the 2005 law, violated the state Constitution’s separation of powers clause by imposing decisions that should be reserved for judges and juries. The law established caps of $500,000 for non-economic damages in verdicts against doctors and $1 million in cases against hospitals.

The decision armed opponents of such provisions with fresh ammunition, and held a particular sting for the American Medical Association, which has its headquarters in Chicago.

CONTINUE READING ARTICLE AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

by Matt Burns
http://www.bizjournals.com

Medical malpractice claims and insurance rates fell again in Ohio in 2007, but the state’s top insurance official isn’t calling a win just yet for tort reform legislation that took effect in 2003.

The Ohio Department of Insurance’s third annual report on professional liability claims shows 3,451 claims closed in 2007, the latest year for which statistics were available. That’s down 14 percent from 4,004 claims in 2006, a year that saw closed claims drop more than 20 percent from the year before. Read the rest of this entry »

By Shari Rudavsky
http://www.indystar.com

Health clinics located in retail businesses would be subject to greater state scrutiny, have to install separate entrances and train all staff in cardiopulmonary resuscitation under proposed legislation that aims to set new standards for the facilities.

Among other measures, the state Senate bill also would mandate that a patient’s primary-care physician receive a detailed report of the clinic visit and that prices be displayed outside the clinic’s exam room. Read the rest of this entry »

By Allison Berry / Staff Writer
http://www.dailynexus.com

Due to an editing error, this article originally stated that the Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, UCLA and UCSD medical schools are considering increasing enrollment next year. In actuality, the schools just participated in a survey on the matter. The Nexus regrets the error.

Several prominent medical schools have reported plans to increase enrollment next year in order to meet the nation’s ballooning demand for doctors.

According to a Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions survey, 44 percent of the 85 medical schools surveyed said they have considered sending out a greater number of acceptance letters for the 2009 -‘10 academic year. Additionally, one-third of the schools said they were planning to increase their class size by 5 to 15 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

By Mary Brophy Marcus
http://www.usatoday.com

Have you ever sat frazzled in a doctor’s office, waiting for your or your child’s appointment, only to glance up and see one of those Norman Rockwell paintings of a kindly old doctor gently pressing a stethoscope against the heart of a little girl’s doll?

In this age of managed health care, when personal doctoring is shoved behind the priority of filling out forms and charging co-pays, it’s enough to make you throw a tongue depressor at the image. Read the rest of this entry »

Dallas Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/

A house bill that passed the Texas Legislature in 2003 is now receiving credit for getting emergency physicians back into the ER.

The Texas College of Emergency Physicians held a press conference in Austin on Tuesday, thanking lawmakers for the passage of House Bill 4 six years ago — a move they credit for establishing the tort reforms needed to revamp medical malpractice suits in a fashion that would encourage more physicians to practice emergency medicine in the state. Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.presidioinsurance.com

ProAssurance has obtained permission to acquire PICA Group, a Mutual which provides Medical Malpractice Insurance for podiatrists in 47 states as well as the D.C., through a Sponsored Demutualization. The acquisition now goes to a shareholders’ vote on March 31, 2009. If they approve it, they’ll receive some $120 million for the new stock, as well as $15 million in premium credits over the next 3 years, commencing in 2010. The likelihood is that the aquisition will go through.

In all, PICA insures about 9,800 podiatrists, giving them a 70% market share which amounted to $104.2 million in net premiums for 2007; they’re a major player. ProAssurance looks forward to the acquisition as they expand their involvements in professional liability for medical professionals. Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.dotmed.com

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – As part of its conversion to a digital medical imaging environment, Orthopedic Associates of Meadville, P.C., in Meadville, Penn., ordered the latest computed and digital radiography solutions from Carestream Health, Inc. The order, which included a KODAK DIRECTVIEW DR 3500 System, KODAK DIRECTVIEW Classic CR system and KODAK DIRECTVIEW Long-Length Imaging System, was placed through Merry X-Ray Corp., an authorized distributor. Read the rest of this entry »