Interesting article from Physicians Practice

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed the Senate Bill 1280 (SB1280) by a vote of 117 to 81. This bill passed the Pennsylvania Senate by a vote of 38 to 9. The POS, a medical professional organization serving “the needs of orthopedic surgeons and other high risk specialty physicians,” initiated this bill.

~~~However, this bill was vetoed by Governor Rendell. ~~~

Pennsylvania Superior Court Eliminates One Hundred and Nine Year-Old “Error in Judgement” Defense for Doctors in Medical Malpractice Cases.

In the Michigan federal court, the legitimacy of the health care reform law has been sustained. However, a Florida federal court judge has advised that the 20 state lawsuit can move forward. The lawsuit has been brought because these states oppose the government mandate that by 2014, every American must purchase medical insurance or pay a fine. These states maintain that this is a violation of their civil rights.

According to a new study, “required timeouts are skipped or rushed.” Obviously, the best situation would be to have a “zero tolerance” methodology to circumvent catastrophic errors.

Some of the errors occurring are operating on the wrong patients and on wrong body parts. To avoid mistakes like these, in 2004, the Joint Commission mandated a three-step protocol.

A panel of 29 physicians has been selected by various medical specialty trade groups to define an estimate on how much work doctors need to do to perform tasks relating to Medicare payment rates. The Wall Street Journal brings up this issue in a recent article. This panel of physicians is not related to any Government involvement.