By News Staff http://www.aafp.org Interest in family medicine among U.S. medical students surged in 2008, and evidence of that growth came on March 20 when the National Resident Matching Program, or NRMP, announced the 2008 Match results. The results show that 1,172 U.S. medical school graduates — 65 more than in 2007 — chose family medicine […]

Associated Press http://www.newsday.com TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Dozens of New Jersey doctors could soon be personally liable for settlement payouts now that state officials have declared insolvent what once was the state’s largest malpractice insurance company. The insurer, Medical Inter-Insurance Exchange, has been in bankruptcy for six years. A liquidation hearing was set for April […]

by John Davis http://www.kuam.com In an effort to allow the Guam Memorial Hospital to take full advantage of telemedicine equipment recently donated from Guam Radiology Consultants and the Guam Healthcare and Hospital Development Foundation, Senator Rory Respicio (D) introduced Bill 245. The measure amends the existing Physician’s Practice Act by adding language excluding any licensure […]

Philadelphia Business Journal http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is encouraging Philadelphia-area doctors to join together and apply for a new Medicare demonstration project that provides incentive payments for physicians’ use of certified electronic health records to improve patient care. The project, which will be open to small and midsize primary-care physician […]

News Times Staff http://www.newstimes.com March 14 was “Doctors Day” at the State Capitol. Several local physicians took a day off to attend this annual event which gives doctors and lawmakers a chance to discuss issues that affect the health-care system in Connecticut. Among the many issues discussed were getting approval for drugs from HMOs and […]

Associated Press http://www.insurancejournal.com When Bobbie Cameron became pregnant with her third child, she reluctantly chose a new doctor to oversee her care. Her longtime physician had dropped out of the birthing business because of soaring malpractice insurance rates. Cameron’s daughter, Avery, was born in February 2007. The experience just wasn’t the same. “We had to […]

By Lisa Greene http://www.tampabay.com Check with the national board of neurosurgeons, and you’ll find 12 neurosurgeons listed in St. Petersburg. But how many are willing to be on call for emergencies at Bayfront Medical Center, Pinellas County’s only trauma center? Three. More of those doctors would be willing to be on call if they weren’t […]

Associated Press http://www.kten.com OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A Tulsa-based consumer group says many Oklahoma nursing homes appear to be operating without malpractice insurance. Hugh M. Robert, executive director of the Oklahoma Center for Consumer & Patient Safety, says the lack of insurance often leaves families with no legal recourse if a nursing home patient suffers […]

By: Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin http://www.thebulletin.us Harrisburg – State Sens. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) and Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) announced yesterday they are introducing legislation to provide medical coverage to uninsured Pennsylvanians earning up to 200 percent of the poverty income level. Dubbed the Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care plan (PA ABC), the measure would subsidize health […]