BACKGROUND: The US has a crisis of insufficient emergency coverage for hand trauma. One of the problems is the perceived financial loss associated with caring for this population. We evaluated the financial impact of treating emergency hand trauma patients on an academic medical practice and health care system. STUDY DESIGN: We examined billing records for 2,632 hand patients seen in the emerge...

More than 25 million Americans speak English "less than very well," according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This population is less able to access health care and is at higher risk of adverse outcomes such as drug complications and decreased patient satisfaction. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act mandates that interpreter services be provided for patients with limited English proficiency who need t...

BACKGROUND Electronic health records (EHRs) may improve patient safety and health care quality, but the relationship between EHR adoption and settled malpractice claims is unknown. METHODS Between June 1, 2005, and November 30, 2005, we surveyed a random sample of 1884 physicians in Massachusetts to assess availability and use of EHR functions, predictors of use, and perceptions of medical pr...

OBJECTIVE An analysis of paid malpractice claims judged in court compared with those settled out of court may help explain perceptions of malpractice risk. DESIGN A retrospective analysis and cross-sectional comparison of malpractice claims. Evaluated trends in the number and proportion of paid claims, and mean payment amount by resolution type; identified patient, physician and claim charact...

As the policy debate over the medical malpractice insurance crisis continues, dueling claims about its causes and suggestions for policy solutions have highlighted the need for a better understanding of how medical malpractice insurance works, why premiums change and what can be done about it. This primer on malpractice insurance discusses these issues and also analyzes the causes of and potent...

Forensic psychiatrists are not as vulnerable to liability as general psychiatrists. The absence of a traditional physician-patient relationship and judicial and quasijudicial immunity are all protective against malpractice actions. Although the absence of a doctor-patient relationship removes an essential element of malpractice, other types of liability such as defamation and ordinary negligenc...

In 1975, and now again in 1985, there has arisen a public perception of a "malpractice crisis." ' The crisis, then and now, principally troubles physicians, who believe that liability insurance premiums are too high. A crisis seen through the eyes of doctors and measured in premium dollars naturally generates responses evaluated in terms of effect on premiums. The needs of patients and consumer...

I n recent years, doctors and hospitals have become increasingly committed to improving patient safety. The publication of To Err Is Human in 2000, which trumpeted the scale of preventable injuries in the nation’s hospitals, helped launch the patient safety movement and spur innovative practices and technologies to reduce such injuries. Improved patient safety should also help reduce malpractic...

background and objectives: medical error/malpractice is becoming a global healthcare problem bringing ever increasing number of physicians before the courts, and posing significant costs to the health system. statistical analysis of the nature of complaints can help identifying the most vulnerable medical practices and thereby guide development of preventive strategies. this study surveyed comp...