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November/December 2007

How do we define nursing care expert witnesses?

By Frances W. (Billie) Sills, RN, MSN, ARNP

Antibiotic-resistant “bad bugs” are getting worse

• The Gist: Those involved in medical cases and their record reviews must keep abreast of the newest enemies in patient health.

Government upcoding case against doctor is frivolous; $300,000 given

• The Gist: As in all cases of upcoding, preparation and fact-finding are essential. Being an “outlier” on the coding curve may not impart guilt.

2nd in a series
Risk analysis: What’s going on in our care?

OPINION By E. Patrick Moores, Esq.

State Farm’s claims evaluation software is flawed, says Colorado Court of Appeals

By Dan Clifford, publisher

How specialized software reduces cost of claims for auto insurance companies

By Sally Lett, Legal Nurse Consultant

Details of claims software and the relevance to attorneys and records reviewers

ESSAY By James Mathis

Verdicts & Settlements

Cases compiled from www.verdictslaska.com; Editorials by Rose Clifford, editor

Ask Pat Bemis

Dangers of discarded data — watch how you pitch it

Judge vacates judgment in CLNC® certification mark case; mark not invalid

By Tommy Sangchompuphen, JD, and Dan Clifford, publisher

Focus on: The nurse expert’s report

By Dorajane Apuna, BSN, MA, RN, CCM, CNLCP

The perils of communication errors

Written standards of conduct — one of the seven elements of compliance

• The Gist: Attorneys may be very interested in a healthcare organization’s code of conduct (CoC). Any organization that bills Medicare and Medicaid would need to have a code of business conduct (CBC), and any healthcare organization that is under a Corporate Integrity Agreement would need to have a CBC. Most legal nurse consultants who do “general” work probably would not be interested in a business’ (CoC), but LNCs who perform compliance audits or who serve as compliance officers would be most interested in a company’s business or ethical codes of conduct.

Expert doctor to be sued for giving testimony; should he be peer reviewed?

New York appellate court: Pain and suffering awards can survive death

“Stay-at-home” plaintiff in non-caps state binds caps-state defendant to home advantage in lengthy med mal suit

By Dan Clifford, publisher