By Jason Stein http://www.madison.com An October raid on a state fund for injured patients has forced its managers to hit up Peter to pay Paul, borrowing tens of millions of dollars in cash — and paying interest — to meet its obligations, a state memo shows. The cash shortfall in the fund came in spite […]

http://www.namic.org/ Source: Conning Research & Consulting Medical malpractice insurance has been stable since its last market disruption in the early 2000s, and is now poised for continued profitable growth, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting, Inc.

Northeast Georgia Medical, other hospitals don’t want rules to change By Debbie Gilbert http://www.gainesvilletimes.com A slight change in the wording of Georgia’s malpractice reform law could make a big difference to hospitals and patients. The consumer advocacy group Georgia Watch is pushing for an amendment that would make it easier for patients to sue hospitals […]

BY HECTOR LOMBANA Special to The Miami Herald http://www.miamiherald.com Five years ago, following a well-documented battle between insurance companies and patient rights groups, Florida capped statutory damages on medical malpractice insurance awards. Recent news suggests that the future of these caps may be in jeopardy. One Florida court ruled the caps unconstitutional; another court ruled […]

32 Captives Licensed Brings Total Licenses Issued in Vermont to 823 The State of Vermont licensed 32 new captive insurance companies in 2007 as it passed the 800-license milestone, according to data released by the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA). The new captives formed include 13 pure captives, 8 […]

By MICHAEL McAULIFFE http://www.masslive.com While it would seem to be an error, admitting a mistake may actually keep a doctor out of court. Massachusetts is among 34 states that have some kind of apology law covering physicians, however the Bay State statute provides doctors a shield from liability only for expressing apology or regret for […]

http://www.earthtimes.org Physicians Preferred Insurance Company has successfully converted to a Florida stock company following the overwhelming approval of its subscribers. Physicians Preferred, which writes medical malpractice insurance, was originally formed as an insurance reciprocal in the fall of 2004. The conversion to a stock company became effective January 1, 2008.

http://www.sciencedaily.com With emerging diseases like the West Nile Virus, and re-emerging diseases such as the pandemic flu and drug-resistant tuberculosis, it’s increasingly important to promptly detect a potential infectious outbreak within a community. But public health officials can’t act quickly unless physicians report the diseases. “Quick reporting by several physicians, all acting independently, allows the […]

http://blog.canadianemr.ca The Canadian 2007 National Physician Survey is now available. 26.1% of physicians use a combination of Electronic and Paper charts as their record keeping system. 9.8% of physicians use Electronic Charts instead of Paper Charts. This number indicates that we still have a long way to go in order to fully enable our physician […]