Outpatient

DocCom Module 4: Balance and Self Care

Medical education and the medical profession are stressful endeavors, with high rates of burnout and mental health problems, including substance abuse. We will be satisfied and effective clinicians only if we find healthy methods for coping with stress. We cannot…

DocCom Module 3: Therapeutic Aspects of Medical Encounters

Clinician patient encounters are therapeutic in and of themselves, independently of diagnostic and therapeutic activities of proven effectiveness. This module identifies the therapeutic elements of clinical encounters, so the learner can be intentional about maximizing these elements with patients. These…

Medi-Spas: Managing Physician Risk

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…

Beyond Informed Consent

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…

Managing Physician Stress, Preventing Burnout

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…

Physician Health and Quality of Care: Who Heals the Healer?

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…

APRNs and the Collaborative Practice Agreement: What Physicians Need to Know

Physicians considering working with a Nurse Practitioner often ask, “What is a Collaborative Practice Agreement?”, “Will this increase my liability?” and “I’ve been asked to just sign off on the NP’s records; what do I do?” This monograph will answer…

Cardiothoracic Surgery Risk and Claims

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…

Risk and Claims in Plastic Surgery II: Patient Selection

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…

Plastic Surgery: Risk and Claims I

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…