Illinois has long been considered a medical liability crisis state. Tort reform advocates argue this dubious distinction can be attributed to the state’s court system. Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties, specifically, are widely acknowledged as having very plaintiff-friendly courts, and healthcare professionals who practice in those regions pay medical malpractice insurance rates that rank […]

Side Note: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Hopefully, that will be the case with the state of Oregon when it comes to tort reform. Just this past year, the state introduced two bills: one that would establish a cap on non-economic damages and another that would establish a panel to review […]

Side Note: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into law an “I’m Sorry” law for Michigan physicians. The law allows physicians to express sympathy related to suffering, pain or death and not have it used again them as evidence in a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, the law would “not apply to a statement of negligence […]

Side Note: Working in any medical office poses its challenges: heavy workload, fast pace, multiple employees to get along with, new advances to keep up with –it’s tough. But, add in an office romance and things could get exponentially tougher –even if you are not in the relationship. Even the most thoughtful, most low-key office […]

Side Note: In 2008, Tennessee passed legislation that required a patient to obtain a “certificate of good faith” for their medical malpractice case in order to proceed with the case. This has dramatically reduced the number of med mal cases filed in the state. Since 2008, the number of med mal lawsuits filed has dropped […]

Side Note: The Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently reviewing a case that challenge’s notions about informed consent. While we have previously discussed here the concept of informed consent and stressed that it is not merely getting a signature on a consent form, it bears repeating that informed consent is a process and a conversation. However, […]

Side Note: Building on tort reform that began in 2009, the state of Oklahoma has moved forward again with actions that will surely further improve the climate for physicians in that state. On April 5, Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law several new med mal reform measures. One of the most significant aspects of the […]

Side Note: North Carolina is attempting medical liability reform and the state is currently entertaining two different bills: one in the Senate and one in the House. The new North Carolina draft House bill aimed at med mal tort reform varies significantly from its Senate counter-part. First, the House bill would cap non-economic damages (eg, […]

Side Note: Have you already moved your practice over to electronic medical records (EMRs)? If you have, congratulations! If you haven’t, that is probably why you are reading this post. A new study, conducted by Medical Group Management Association, which covers 4,588 health-care organizations, including practices and hospitals, yielded some interesting results. First, of those […]