...Medical Malpractice Tort Reform in the Healthcare Industry Medical malpractice reform, also known as tort reform, includes strategies to limit medical malpractice costs, deter medical errors and ensure that patients who are injured by medical negligence are fairly compensated. Tort reform has the potential to reduce health care expenditures by reducing the number of malpractice claims, the average size of malpractice awards and tort liability system administrative costs (Medical Malpractice Reform, 2011). Since the 1970s, medical malpractice has been a controversial social issue, which has caused physicians to have increasing concerns about the large number of lawsuits and the negative connotations that tend to go along with them. Physicians have started pushing for legal reforms to decrease the large monetary awards for damages whereas tort attorneys have argued that the negligence suits are an effective way of compensating the victims fairly and forcing the medical professions to follow a proper standard of care (Pozgar, 2013). An article from the Journal of Patient Safety estimates that between 210,000 to 400,000 people die every year in the U.S. from hospital medical errors and 1 in 14 U.S. doctors face a malpractice lawsuit every year (Corapi, 2014). Physicians and healthcare providers argue that the millions of dollars that are awarded in damages increase the cost of healthcare by passing this cost onto the consumer in the form of higher insurance premiums and...
Words: 2062 - Pages: 9
...Getting America To The Top Through Healthcare Reform Chelsea Secoolish Microeconomics BU224 December 2, 2012 The main objective of a market economy is to reach efficiency. Market failure is defined as “the individual pursuit of self-interest which makes society worse off, or, an inefficient market”, (Krugman, Wells, 2009). Misallocated resources, unnecessary medical care, and for-profit insurance companies all play a part in America’s failing healthcare system. As one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world with plentiful resources to boot, 40 to 50 million uninsured citizens are unacceptable (Boseley, 2012). Our government needs to step in and reform the system, but exactly how to accomplish this task has become a national issue. In addition to the debate of adopting a national healthcare system (Obamacare,) reforming the Medical Liability System, or MLS, could very well be the answer to providing healthcare for each and every United States citizen. Optimizing promising practices, ensuring patient safety, and reducing healthcare costs are all ways to effectively bring our country back up to speed in what should be a rewarding and lucrative experience for both patients and their physicians. With the United States ranking 37th out of 191countries total in terms of health care, it is not surprising that there are millions of Americans uninsured, but even more alarming is the fact that there are 38 million people in the with inadequate health...
Words: 1884 - Pages: 8
...Healthcare Trends in the National Market Franklin University Abstract Current studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that age adjusted death rates are down for major causes of death like cancer and heart disease. Although these findings suggest the healthcare system is well regulated, Americans are not happy with it overall. Out of 12 concerns over healthcare in the United States each one seems just as important as the predecessor. Alzheimer’s disease linked deaths have spiked with unintentional incident related deaths climbing as well. These issues will surely be met by an adapting system as it reacts to the needs of a market. The industry is currently heavily regulated by the government but the citizens are calling for more change. Healthcare Trends in the National Market The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has near comprehensive data in a variety of areas including morbidity and mortality that give insight to important trends that have impacted the healthcare system in the United States of America. The system is and will continue to be ever changing and evolving as the United States has a reactive system that is prone to great sways as it is manipulated by trends in disease and treatments. The CDC reported data from a 10 year time span regarding deaths among males and females. The leading cause of death for both sexes was heart disease, which was examined along with cancer, strokes, chronic lower respiratory disease...
Words: 1649 - Pages: 7
...politicians and other concerned citizens. Another approach is to use supply and demand theory to analyze the issue. Here again the objective is to bring textbook theory to life and use it to provide you with a deeper understanding of health service markets. THE IMPACT OF HEALTH INSURANCE There is a downward-sloping demand curve for health care services just as there is for other goods and services. Following the same law of demand that applies to cars, clothing, entertainment, and other goods and services, movements along the demand curve for health care occur because consumers respond to changes in the price of health care. As shown in Exhibit A-1, we assume that health care, including doctor visits, medicine, hospital bills, and other medical services, can be measured in units of health care. Without health insurance, consumers buy Q1 units of health care services per year at a price of P1 per unit. Assuming supply curve S represents the quantity supplied, the market is in equilibrium at point A. At this point, the total cost of health care can be computed by the price of health care (P1) times the quantity demanded (Q1) or represented geometrically by the rectangle 0P1 AQ1. Analysis of the demand curve for health care is complicated by the way health care is financed. About 80 percent of all health care is paid for by third parties, including private insurance companies and government programs, such as...
Words: 1720 - Pages: 7
...Medicare and You DeLee Glasser Western Governors University Medicare and You As we age, medical care is often needed. Medicare is government provided health insurance, available to those who are at least 65 years of age, and for those who are younger with certain disabilities. There are many different parts to Medicare, some requiring out of pocket expenses, and/or deductibles. Medicare Part A The rules for Medicare are often complex, requiring the nursing and/or social work staff to get involved, and help navigate the system. The hospitalization portion of Medicare is “Part A,” which will cover the acute care hospitalization, and the skilled nursing facility (SNF) portion, of Mrs. Zwick’s illness. If, at a later time, Mrs. Zwick was in need of home health care, and/or hospice care, Part A would also be responsible for the coverage of these services. Services, not covered, would be any long-term custodial or unskilled nursing care. After meeting the insurance deductible, Part A is usually a premium-free service, assuming the spouse, or patient, has paid into the system, while employed. As of 2013, the monthly cost for Part A is $441, for those who are not eligible for a premium-free policy. Mrs. Zwick, a permanent United States resident, who has been hospitalized for five days following a stroke, will require further care from a SNF, once she is discharged from the hospital. The deductible for her hospital stay, assuming that she has a premium-free policy, would...
Words: 2089 - Pages: 9
...passage of health care reform legislation affect group practices in the future? Please take 1-2 significant developments such as accountable care organizations (ACOs), medical group homes, etc. and relate them to the future of physician group practices. The evolution of Medical Group practice began with Mayo Clinic during World War I. There is no exact date when this started but has become a very import aspect of the health care delivery system. Organizations such as the American College of Medical Patrice Executives (ACMPE), Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and American College of Physician Executive (ACPE) were established in support of group practices. Group Practice defined by the American Medical Association is “the provision of health care services by a group of at least three licensed physicians engaged in a formally organized and legally recognized entity; sharing equipment, facilities, common records, and personnel involved in both patient care business and management”. In the early days the AMA was very concerned about group practices and the challenges they would likely to encounter. Some of these concerns included the relationship between employers & employees, prepayment of medical services which could potentially threaten the integrity of the physician patient relationship. Another concern was the involvement by group practices in consumer controlled health care cooperatives. There were many discussions among leaders of the AMA who then decided to...
Words: 2572 - Pages: 11
...Planning in an Era of Health Care Reform Strategic Planning in an Era Of Health Care Reform ‘Volume to Value’ Abstract The White House and the current administration of President Obama made the passage of Health Care Reform a top priority and signed the bill into law March 23, 2010. There are two laws that make up the reform package; the first is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. Critics both in support and opponents claim the bills do little to alter healthcare inflation or uneven delivery of care (Ferman, 2010). The goal of the bill is to change a volume based model in to a value based business model. A comment by Moody’s Investor services exclaimed that the reform will undoubtedly require healthcare leaders to focus even more on multi-year strategies to ensure long term financial stability (Kim, Majka, & Sussman, 2011). Leaders will have to establish a long range plan that includes financial projections and goals, long range capital expenditure requirements, debt capacity, capital position analysis, capital shortfall analysis and sensitivity and risk analysis (Kim, Majka, & Sussman, 2011). There will be substantial increases in the number of newly insured that will place a tremendous amount of stress and unknown consequences on an already burdened healthcare infrastructure (Tyson, 2010). The objective of this paper will attempt to examine the implications of reform on strategic planning of health...
Words: 3600 - Pages: 15
...Chapter 3 The Evolution of Health Services in the United States Learning Objectives To discover historical developments that have shaped the nature of the US health care delivery system To evaluate why the system has been resistant to national health insurance reforms To explore developments associated with the corporatization of health care To speculate on whether the era of socialized medicine has dawned in the United States “Where’s the market?” 81 26501_CH03_FINAL.indd 81 7/27/11 10:31:29 AM 82 CHAPTER 3 The Evolution of Health Services in the United States Introduction The health care delivery system of the United States evolved quite differently from the systems in Europe. American values and the social, political, and economic antecedents on which the US system is based have led to the formation of a unique system of health care delivery, as described in Chapter 1. This chapter discusses how these forces have been instrumental in shaping the current structure of medical services and how they are likely to shape its future. The evolutionary changes discussed here illustrate the American beliefs and values (discussed in Chapter 2) in action, within the context of broad social, political, and economic changes. Because social, political, and economic contexts are not static, their shifting influences lend a certain dynamism to the health care delivery system. Conversely, beliefs and values remain relatively stable over time. Consequently, in the American health care...
Words: 18336 - Pages: 74
...ram4577X_ch03.qxd 4/16/04 11:50 Page 37 Legal and Ethical Issues in Medical Practice, Including HIPAA AREAS OF COMPETENCE 2003 Role Delineation Study CLINICAL Fundamental Principles ɀ Apply principles of aseptic technique and infection control ɀ Comply with quality assurance practices Patient Care ɀ Coordinate patient care information with other health-care providers GENERAL Legal Concepts ɀ Perform within legal and ethical boundaries ɀ Prepare and maintain medical records ɀ Document accurately ɀ Follow employer’s established policies dealing with the health-care contract ɀ Implement and maintain federal and state health-care legislation and regulations ɀ Comply with established risk management and safety procedures ɀ Recognize professional credentialing criteria CHAPTER OUTLINE ɀ ɀ ɀ ɀ Medical Law and Ethics OSHA Regulations Quality Control and Assurance Code of Ethics ɀ HIPAA ɀ Confidentiality Issues and Mandatory Disclosure OBJECTIVES After completing Chapter 3, you will be able to: 3.1 Define ethics, bioethics, and law. 3.2 Discuss the measures a medical practice must take to avoid malpractice claims. 3.3 Describe OSHA requirements for a medical office. KEY TERMS abandonment agent arbitration assault authorization battery bioethics breach of contract civil law contract crime criminal law defamation disclosure durable power of attorney electronic transaction record ethics expressed contract felony fraud ...
Words: 15296 - Pages: 62
...The Ethical and Legal Complexity of Medical Tourism: Questions of International Justice, Economic Redistribution and Health Care Reform Professor Sarah McBride Toro Longe April 18, 2010 M.J. Thesis in Health Law Abstract This is an essay on medical tourism in the United States of America (U.S.). It includes a brief history of the U.S. health care system, examines the social, cultural, ethical, and legal issues that have affected health care changes in America. With the number of Americans going overseas to seek medical care steadily rising, the American insurance industry expanding benefits, and the Joint Commission accrediting facilities for globalization of the health care marketplace, medical tourism should become increasingly important in the health care industry. While there are many reasons for patients seeking health care outside of their own country, one that is particularly easy to overlook is the outsourcing of health care and its effect in U.S. and around the world. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of medical tourism, noting the specific medical tourism destinations, presenting reasons for the recent increase in medical tourism, and examining the risks and benefits, as well as wrestling with the challenging ethical and legal issues inherent in medical tourism. The paper will conclude with consideration of the role of the law in medical tourism. Introduction Over the past 100 years, the United States of America (U.S.) has changed greatly...
Words: 17832 - Pages: 72
...E ROLE OF LAW IN THE U.S. HEALTHCARE SYSTEM USING THE LAW TO PROMOTE OUR POLICY GOALS AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES The study of law is more than simply memorizing a list of activities that are illegal, such as Medicare fraud or price-fixing. It is more than memorizing the penalties for particular violations, such as the number of years in prison one can receive for a class B felony or the fine for driving 50 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. It is more than trying to remember the names of court cases or the citations to statutes and regulations. Instead, law is a policy discipline and a social science. Moreover, the law is not cast in stone, but is subject to change. For hundreds or perhaps thousands of years, people have reconsidered and changed the rules that govern their activities. In a democratic society, we have the power to make further changes in the laws by which we live. Therefore, as students and scholars of law, we not only study the current state of the law, but also what we think the law should be. In particular, we consider how we can use the law to accomplish our goals of public policy. We begin this type of analysis by identifying a practical problem. For example, we may want to focus on discrimination, violence, environmental pollution, or inadequate access to healthcare services. Then, we try to figure out how to use the law and the legal system to solve that particular problem by creating a new law or by changing an existing law. ...
Words: 15289 - Pages: 62
...Osteopathic Museum, Kirksville, Missouri. For Kathryn Gevitz This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Preface & Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1 Andrew Taylor Still THE MISSOURI MECCA IN THE FIELD 39 1 22 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 STRUCTURE & FUNCTION EXPANDING THE SCOPE 54 69 85 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 THE PUSH FOR HIGHER STANDARDS A QUESTION OF IDENTITY The California Merger 101 115 135 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 REAFFIRMATION & EXPANSION In a Sea of Change 155 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 THE CHALLENGE OF DISTINCTIVENESS 171 Notes 193 Index 237 This page intentionally left blank PREFACE & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I first became aware of the existence of the osteopathic medical profession during the summer of 1974. I was meeting my friend David,...
Words: 99946 - Pages: 400
...IN THE United States, primary care remains a medical model. This is in contrast to much of the world, where the 1978 Declaration of Alma-At a which recognized that attaining health for all also requires interaction from social and economic sectors - is considered standard. Today, there is much buzz about patient-centered medical homes, a concept that promises to transform the practice of American medicine. There is much to praise about this most recent iteration of the medical home. But the missing ingrethent in all these definitions and models remains public health. A population focus that addresses the social determinants of health is an essential component of primary health care. In the United States, such a comprehensive approach has been labeled community-oriented primary care. This model is built firmly on the Alma-Ata principles and incorporates a public health approach to health services. Community-oriented primary care organizes the delivery of health services, around a population, not simply a collection of individuals. It identifies a population - most frequently a geographically defined community - and uses epidemiology and interventions to improve community and individual health and well-being. In this model, both individual patients and the community are the foci of the delivery of health services. Primary health care stands at the intersection of personal and population health services. It requires integrating medical models of primary care that are centered on...
Words: 12713 - Pages: 51
...http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9728.html We ship printed books within 1 business day; personal PDFs are available immediately. To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System Linda T. Kohn, Janet M. Corrigan, and Molla S. Donaldson, Editors; Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine ISBN: 0-309-51563-7, 312 pages, 6 x 9, (2000) This PDF is available from the National Academies Press at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9728.html Visit the National Academies Press online, the authoritative source for all books from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council: • Download hundreds of free books in PDF • Read thousands of books online for free • Explore our innovative research tools – try the “Research Dashboard” now! • Sign up to be notified when new books are published • Purchase printed books and selected PDF files Thank you for downloading this PDF. If you have comments, questions or just want more information about the books published by the National Academies Press, you may contact our customer service department tollfree at 888-624-8373, visit us online, or send an email to feedback@nap.edu. This book plus thousands more are available at http://www.nap.edu. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF File are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Distribution, posting, or copying...
Words: 104719 - Pages: 419
...The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12956.html Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12956.html THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by Contract No. 65815 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project. International Standard Book Number 0-309-XXXXX-X (Book) International Standard Book Number 0-309- XXXXX -X (PDF) Library of Congress Control Number: 00 XXXXXX Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies...
Words: 41680 - Pages: 167
