side note: In 2005, the Illinois Legislature passed a series of tort reform laws intended to have a deflating effect on medical malpractice insurance premiums for the state’s healthcare workforce. At the heart of these reforms was a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are harms such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement […]

side note: Today’s healthcare industry is increasingly dependent on computers and data sharing via the internet or an intranet system. Add to this the increasingly common use of social networking services, like Facebook, as a means of marketing a medical practice to potential patient customers. This evolution toward cyber-dependency has been accelerated by the Patient […]

side note: The report discussed in this article was published by the James Madison Institute (JMI), a Florida-based think tank dedicated to dedicated to advancing the ideas of limited government, economic freedom, federalism and individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility. The JMI report argues that the current medical liability tort system is ineffective, costly and […]

Dr. Alexis Goldman, a cardiologist in New York was all set to start her new life. For 25 years, Dr. Lexi, as she was known to her patients, had worked tirelessly to save lives and improve the quality of life for her patients. Now, the caregiver was planning to take a 24-month leave of absence […]

side note: The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal doctor caring for King of Pop Michael Jackson, was a high-profile case where a question of medical liability crossed over to a question of criminal negligence. Dr. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. This case is interesting beyond its pop culture relevance because it begs […]

side note: Medical malpractice insurance premiums are threatened by a case before the Missouri Supreme Court. The state’s high court is currently considering the constitutionality of Missouri’s $1.2 million cap on non-economic, pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice cases. In the case being considered, the plaintiff’s estate was awarded $1 million for past medical bills and […]

side note: There’s no question the delivery system for healthcare in America is in need of change. Too expensive, its endangering access to care as well as bankrupting the nation. The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act includes practical changes designed to both streamline the delivery of healthcare and minimize the overall expense. These new […]

side note: Since 1975, capping non-economic (pain and suffering) damages in medical malpractice lawsuits has been considered the Gold Standard of effective tort reforms. There is gobs of data supporting the conclusion that state’s with non-economic damage caps have considerably lower medical malpractice insurance premiums than states of a comparable size and demographic that do […]

side note: This article details the reasons why many doctors are moving from solo, self-employed practice to working for a hospital system. This trend is troubling to many in the healthcare industry because it concentrates the physician force in certain areas. One of the reasons that many physicians are opting to work for a hospital […]