Focus on: Breaking down the medical record
By Dorajane Apuna, BSN, MA, RN, CCM, CNLCP
Compiled from www.verdictslaska.com; Comments by Rose Clifford, RN, LNCC, editor
How to pick a new office computer or laptop
These tips are intended for those buying a business computer. You may wish to do further research if you have special needs such as video editing or gaming.
CEU: Nursing and the Daubert standard
By Frances W. Sills, RN, MSN, ARNP
The preemption issues: Whose law pertains and when’s it followed?
The Gist: Could FDA approval shield a maker of medical products or devices from negligence? Should it?
By Tommy Sangchompuphen, JD
for The Medical-Legal News
3rd in a series
Risk analysis: Getting control of medical care
Opinion
By E. Patrick Moores, JD
Did court ruling shift docs’ liability to nonpatients?
The Gist: Critics of this court’s action say that a physician now has a duty not only to a patient but also to foreseeable injured parties.
By Tommy Sangchompuphen, JD
for The Medical-Legal News
Maryland’s largest med mal insurer to refund an unused $84 million
Maryland’s largest medical malpractice insurer will be making an $84 million refund, the Washington Post reported in December. The excess money was not needed for med mal lawsuit payouts as predicted under a state-regulated plan that began in 2004.
Focus on: computer-assisted coding
The Gist: “Upcoding” is a common form of healthcare fraud that attorneys, nurse consultants, records reviewers and experts may deal with. Knowledge of how coding is done is vital.
By Tommy Sangchompuphen, JD
for The Medical-Legal News
3-time wrong site error nets $50,000 fine for hospital
A Rhode Island hospital was fined $50,000 in late November after its third incident of wrong site surgery, according to an article by the Associated Press and Yahoo News.
In February 2007, neurosurgery was begun on a patient on the wrong side of his head. The patient was unharmed.