When medi-spas first appeared, spurred by advances in laser technology, they were largely unregulated. Now, many states are requiring medi-spas to be associated with a physician as an owner, supervisor or contractor. Offers are being made, and physicians of many…
Informed Consent continues to be a source of medical error and medical malpractice claims. Obtaining consent is sometimes delegated to someone other than the physician performing the procedure; it is sometimes reduced to obtaining a signature on a piece of…
Nursing home patients today are older, sicker, and more frail than ever before. Multiple chronic conditions, reduced mobility, and cognition put them at risk for polypharmacy, falls, malnutrition, and pressure ulcers. Primary care physicians not based in the nursing home…
Physicians are under more stress than ever before, much of it due to factors beyond their control. Laurie Drill-Mellum, an emergency medicine physician describes the forces bearing down on physicians, including litigation stress, and presents techniques for actively managing the…
Recent large-scale surveys of physicians show high numbers of respondents endorsing statements of stress and burnout. This video presentation by an emergency medicine physician examines the quantifiable effects of physician stress on the physician’s physiology and on the patient’s quality…
The number of cardiothoracic (CT) surgeons is declining, and there is a projected shortage by 2035. At the same time, CT surgery continues to be a high-risk specialty for those practicing it. This activity looks at trends in CT surgery…
Patient selection is an important issue, especially in cosmetic plastic surgery. Sound patient selection criteria and screening measures can help reduce the risk of claims related to unexpected outcomes and patient dissatisfaction. This monograph focuses on several special risk issues…
Risk in the field of plastic surgery has increased as the number of procedures has risen over the past few decades. Further complicating the field of plastic surgery is the volume of procedures that are done in ambulatory surgery centers…
Twenty years ago, the AMA noted an alarming trend by physicians and hospitals: they were treating the terms “standard of care” and “clinical practice guidelines” virtually interchangeably, a trend that has only increased over time. In a video interview, cardiologist…
On one occasion, a surgeon may make a technical error in the operating room but no claim of medical malpractice follows. On another occasion, a technically perfect surgery may be followed by a claim of medical malpractice. Are there any…
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