By Lee Romney, LA Times Staff Writer http://ktla.trb.com The young man told the emergency room doctor at Sutter Coast Hospital that he had come to await the end of the world under the big trees. He realized he needed help. But there are no psychiatric beds here, and not a single psychiatrist practices in Del […]

http://www.insurancejournal.com Nearly one-third of Wyoming doctors are planning to leave the state eventually and many of those say the cost of malpractice insurance is a factor, a new state report shows. The Wyoming Healthcare Commission this week released a report giving detailed information about doctors and other health care professionals in the state. The report […]

Mark Moran http://pn.psychiatryonline.org Because of congressional action, payment for psychiatrists will drop on average by just 2 percent instead of 7 percent. Other specialties will still be experiencing greater cuts in payment even after the action by Congress. An 11th-hour intervention by Congress averted a scheduled 5 percent across-the-board reduction in reimbursement for physicians and […]

http://www.insurancejournal.com Oklahoma State Representative Jason W. Murphey (R-Guthrie) has introduced legislation intended to lower medical costs by providing incentive for insurers to write “Negative Outcomes” insurance policies. The bill also seeks to help ensure that patients are properly and quickly compensated for medical malpractice. In the announcement, Murphey said Negative Outcomes insurance is a unique […]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/ The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report features recent developments related to medical malpractice in four states. Summaries appear below. * Illinois: Illinois medical malpractice insurance premiums have decreased by an average of 5.2% this year and either will remain the same or drop again next year, according to ISMIE Mutual, the state’s largest malpractice […]

By Rebecca Correa , Staff writer Eagle-Tribune In a unit at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, doctors can make a series of injections called Botox to eliminate wrinkles on the skin in a matter of minutes. About five miles away at another facility, clients can get tattoos removed, liposuction and some of the same Botox procedures […]

Regina McEnery Plain Dealer Reporter A physician and information science expert at the Cleveland Clinic has broken ranks to oversee the implementation of University Hospitals’ $88 million electronic medical records system. Dr. Holly Miller has been appointed UH’s chief medical information officer. She joined the Clinic in 1999 as director of the clinical Internet systems […]

MARY ANN DUTTON Staff Writer http://www.sulphurdailynews.com The Third Circuit State Court of Appeals recently challenged the $500,000 cap Louisiana put on medical malpractice damage awards in 1975. The Court said the cap violates the state constitution by robbing patients of their right to an adequate legal solution for their injuries. Sulphur Attorney Oliver Jackson Schrumpf […]

By Keith M. Phaneuf, Journal Inquirer http://www.journalinquirer.com HARTFORD – The 2007 General Assembly session opened Wednesday with its usual flurry of activity, with more than 200 new bills referred to various committees. Not surprisingly, included among them were dozens of health insurance-related measures. Legislative leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers spent much of the past fall campaigning […]