...Brian Ardizzoni Michael Neil English 1301, Composition 1 25 November 2012 Medical Malpractice For nearly forty years, tort reform constantly becomes an increasingly controversial issue affecting the medical community, the legal community and most of all, the victims of some very unfortunate accidents. Tort reform refers to laws passed on a state-by-state basis which place limits or caps on the type or amount of damages awarded in personal injury lawsuits. Those who advocate medical malpractice tort reform believe limitations should be set on the amount of damages a plaintiff or injured party can be rewarded by the court. These advocates usually include medical professionals and insurance companies. Their argument is that too many frivolous lawsuits lead to high malpractice insurance, the increasing cost of medical care and a burden on the taxpayers whose tax dollars absorb the extravagant litigation costs for these claims. They believe doctors will eventually be unable to practice medicine due to costly malpractice insurance premiums which may leave many Americans unable to obtain much-needed healthcare. In the past, as the rate of malpractice suits began to grow, so did the rate of malpractice insurance. This ended up having a dire impact on the medical profession. For one thing, many qualified doctors ended up leaving their practices and focusing more on preventative medicine. In other words, they...
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...issues surrounding medical professional liability in America today? What are the arguments for and against tort reform in U.S. health care? In America today, medical professionals are facing more dramatic liability claims than at any point in history from patients and tort lawyers. From increased demands by malpractice insurance carriers to higher standards and quality of care criteria, medical professionals are under extreme scrutiny which makes the art of practicing medicine very difficult. As pressure continues to mount in America both by politicians and social groups how are demanding a restructuring and overhaul of the current system, medical professionals will have to be very diligent about meeting the new standards expected in healthcare of they will face lawsuits and tort actions that could destroy their careers (Qazi, 2012). The healthcare debate in the United States has been dominating the industry since President Obama passed key legislation that will forever change the American medical system. Arguments against healthcare reform stem largely from the provisions and laws that are being proposed by Obamacare. The restructured proposals have drawn many opponents, especially in the healthcare and insurance industry. Primarily, the argumentative claim is that the costs to practice medicine and insure all patients will not be sustainable. Additionally, the increase in the amount of patients that will flood the system will demand an increase in medical insurance premium...
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...The medical liability system needs reform to promote better patient safety and lower health care costs. In this paper I plan to show different types of reform that are needed in the medical liability system and how those changes will impact patient safety and cost. Also discussed will be the governments backing (or not) of medical liability reform. The current medical liability system was designed to provide monetary compensation to patients who suffer injury due to medical negligence. The system also works to reduce the chances of future patients being harmed by preventable medical errors. However, most individuals in the healthcare industry do not believe it accomplishes any of these goals. The biggest issues, as reported by critics of the system, are the cost and access of liability coverage, impact on patients’ safety, and the administrative costs of lawsuits. To address the shortcomings of the system, some reform has been introduced to modify the current tort system. Included in these reforms are Full disclosure/early offer programs, Certificates of merit programs, Caps on damage awards, periodic interim payment rules, joint and several liability reform, collateral source rule reform, screening panels and health courts. All of these programs are designed to lower the costs of Medical Liability insurance for the health care provider as well as addressing the safety of patients in various ways. They also give both the patient and the health care provider peace of mind because...
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...Week Two Wrap Up – The Fabric of Healthcare Law By Mary Nell Cummings In week two we discussed how legislation and other laws affect healthcare delivery. While there is no need to understand any law in detail at this point in the course, it is important to understand the source of law. Also, it is important to understand how law affects your organization, as well as how your organization complies with legal requirements. Finally, your understanding of the sources of law, and the process of regulation will help you to make good decisions as a health care administrator. The Sources of Law Many people believe that all law comes from the Congress or from state legislatures. They believe that law is synonymous with “statute” which is a particular kind of law – drafted, debated, and voted on by a group of legislators. This is of course, not correct. There are many other sources of law. There is the federal constitution, and the constitution of each state. There is law made through regulatory agencies (administrative law) and there is law made by judicial decision (common law). This combination of approaches and interests leads to the rich fabric that is simply described as healthcare law. Common Law Contract Law: Contract law is at the heart of healthcare delivery. Insurance companies enter into contracts with patients, providers, facilities, and governments (state and federal). Doctors and hospitals enter into contracts with one another. Unions and employers enter into contracts with...
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...days worth of revenue McDonalds received from the sale of coffee only. In retrospect, it seems that the truncated reporting of the case by mainstream media outlets lead many people to come to the conclusion that it was indeed a frivolous lawsuit which led to exorbitant awards. This case triggered an outcry for Tort reform. Many people saw this as a case of frivolous and out of control suing where people could become predatory extortionists at the expense of legitimate businesses. To this day, the debate about how responsibility is ascribed to the involved parties is still ongoing. (NYTimes,...
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...Malpractice is defined as “injurious or unprofessional treatment or culpable neglect of a patient by a physician or surgeon” (Webster’s 2005). With the rising costs of healthcare today, some lawmakers, doctors, and hospitals claim that the expensive malpractice insurance that health professionals are required to carry is a contributing factor to the rise in the cost of health care. (Connolly, Ceci 2004). Awards capping is not a new principle for Americans. Much like we hear about salary caps for baseball teams some states including Ohio have legislated laws that put a limit on the amount that a patient can receive in a lawsuit for pain and suffering. The law now states that largest amount that a plaintiff can win is 250,000. Although the amount for lost wages will not be capped, states would like to place a value on a person’s quality of life. Medical malpractice awards capping is not a solution to the rising costs of healthcare. There are two sides to every story. The issue of awards capping is no different. On one side we have medical doctors, hospitals and a conservative government concerned about rising healthcare and insurance costs. On the other we have families, children and health care advocates who claim that a capping system would not be influential in affecting prices for health care or malpractice insurance. The ABA considers capping not only to be a bad idea, but ineffective as well “The American Bar association strongly refutes any such contention …empirical date...
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...Medical Malpractice and Quality of Care: With the increase in costs of malpractice insurance for doctors, how is our quality of care affected and what can be done about it? Rising malpractice insurance affects everyone seeking medical care and should be a cause for serious concern. At first, the health care industry saw rising premiums as only a temporary backlash from a couple of lawsuits with multimillion dollar jury awards. Therefore, health care administrators, insurance companies, and public officials worried little about planning for the snow-balling crisis that exists today. People blame greedy lawyers and generous juries for the problem; however, I feel that more than one cause led to our current situation. Today, administrators and lawmakers debate the best solution to this dilemma. Many suggest that by merely capping monetary damages awarded, malpractice rates will stabilize. I disagree. I believe that monetary caps must occur to help with the costs, but I also feel that patient/public awareness is essential to the stabilization of insurance premiums. After the first multimillion dollar award in a medical malpractice lawsuit, physicians still felt safe because they believed juries would place little or no emphasis on non-economic damages – awards unrelated to medical costs, lost salary, etc. However, the lawsuits kept coming and the awards, especially for non-economic damages, kept escalating. According to the New York Times, “the average jury...
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...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...
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...the increased mortality of this group. Bonnel (2000) notes that younger individuals are dying of this disease, which translates to a decreased taxable population and reduction in resources for public expenditures. Medications such as antiretrovirals are very expensive. Henderson (2002) points out that drug therapy costs up to $16,000 dollars per infected individual per year. Additional economic impact can be thought of in terms of lost productivity, and lost days from work, which account for a significant impact on the labor supply. With regard to substance abuse, Henderson (2002) states “substance abuse is the leading health problem in the United States today” (p. 310). Costs associated with substance abuse include increased costs of medical care, lost productivity from work, and increased rates of crime. Henderson also mentions that in 1995, drug abuse cost the United States $110 billion dollars. Violent crimes are fairly widespread in the United States today and include hate crimes, domestic violence, and homicides. The vast majority of violent crime victims will seek treatment from emergency rooms, leading to overcrowding in these departments and at a...
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...Grading Criteria Significant Health Care Event Paper This assignment is due in Week One. |Content |Points |Points |Additional | |60 Percent |Available |Earned |Comments: | | |6 |X/6 | | |Paper discusses a significant event or aspect that has changed or affected health care today | | | | |and includes the following: | | | | |How does this significant event relate to the changes on health care? | | | | |In your opinion, has this event impacted the historical evolution of health care? If so, how?| | | | |If not, could it? | | | | |Do you personally agree with the event’s significance, based on your beliefs and values? How | | | | |so? | | | ...
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...Providers will experience an increased burden in many aspects of their medical profession including new legal practicing liabilities, less autonomy, administrative encumbrances, shortages of primary care physicians, and political infringement (Horton, Hollier 2012). The provider is to maintain high quality of care while the ACA’s agenda is cost and quantity over quality. The Affordable Care Act is the largest piece of legislative reform in American history relating to health care. The impact to our economy on many levels of scale and our constitutional rights are all being questioned and debated without a definitive answer to long term reality of its implications. Reform is necessitous to the continuance of providing care, controlling fraudulent activities and waste, as well as, exploring new innovative ways to maintain a high level of quality services within the legalities of our legislative branch. The balance of these aspects have been challenging and perplexing in materializing the reforms into fruition. The concentration during reform has been on quantity of the insured population, effects on businesses as in tax benefits, taxation, and the CMS. The ACA, legislatively is in the beginning stages to reform health care. Thus far the application of reform are in disarray as it is on the operating table cut wide open and bleeding out, without a surgeon in the room. The complexity has the medical society and American constituents confused and anxious of its impact...
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...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. ...
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...Health care reform in the United States has a long history. Reforms have often been proposed but have rarely been accomplished. In 2010, landmark reform was passed through two federal statutes enacted in 2010: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which amended the PPACA and became law on March 30, 2010. Future reforms and ideas continue to be proposed, with notable arguments including a single-payer system and a reduction in fee-for-service medical care. The PPACA includes a new agency, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which is intended to research reform ideas through pilot projects. ------------------------------------------------- History of national reform efforts Here is a summary of reform achievements at the national level in the United States. * 1965 President Lyndon Johnson enacted legislation that introduced Medicare, covering both hospital and general medical insurance for senior citizens paid for by a Federal employment tax over the working life of the retiree, and Medicaid permitted the Federal government to partially fund a program for the poor, with the program managed and co-financed by the individual states. * 1985 The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to give some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after...
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...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 ...
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...September 2009 What are the Major Drivers of Health Care Costs? Major drivers of health care costs include: inappropriate utilization especially of advanced medical technology, lack of patient involvement in decision-making, payment system distortions that encourage over-use, high prices for health care services, a health care workforce that is not aligned with national needs, excessive administrative costs, medical liability and defensive medicine, more Americans with declining health status and chronic disease, and demographic changes including an increase in elderly persons. This paper addresses each of these drivers of health care costs and provides recommendations for controlling them. Why Do We Need to Control Health Care Costs? Improvements in health care have the ability to provide opportunities for all people to live better, healthier lives. However, the rate of increase in U.S. spending on health care continues to exceed economic growth at an unsustainable pace. The rate of growth in health care spending is the single most important factor undermining the nation’s long-term fiscal condition. Why Should Controlling Health Care Costs be Linked to Promoting Good Health Outcomes? Increasing pressure to control health care costs necessitates that limited healthcare resources be used equitably and judiciously. Healthcare expenditures must be correlated with high quality and efficiency in the delivery of services to improve health outcomes. This requires understanding the benefits...
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