Medical Malpractice: A Physician's Sourcebook

Hardcover: 328 pages
ISBN 1588293890
Humana Press
November 2004
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Malpractice litigation has become a central fact of existence in the practice of medicine today. This tsunami of lawsuits has led to a high volume of irreconcilable rhetoric and ultimately threatens the stability of the entire health care system.

The authors of this book focus on the clinical face of litigation from the perspective of the practicing physician in a variety of specialties, ranging from family and emergency medicine to anesthesiology, obstetrics, gynecology, and plastic surgery.

Special consideration is given to breast cancer and Pap smear litigation, risk management for the family physician, the emerging significance of e-medicine, and the importance of effective patient communication.

Additional legal chapters examine the litigation process itself, offering insight into winning medical malpractice lawsuits, the role of the physician as expert witness or defendant, the process of discovery and deposition, and how a plaintiff's attorney views risk reduction. In order to provide physicians a source of reliable information on this subject, Medical Malpractice is divided into four sections:

Part I gives an overview of insurance in general, as well as discussing professional liability insurance companies.

Insuring the Practice of Medicine, Mark Gorney and Richard E. Anderson

Part II focuses on the litigation process with views from the defense and plaintiff and clearly demystifies the entire process for physicians.

What Every Doctor Should Know About Litigation: A Primer on How to Win Medical Malpractice Lawsuits, Fred J. Hiestand
Risk Reduction from a Plaintiff Attorney's Perspective, David Wm. Horan
The Physician as A Witness, Joel A. Mattison
The Judicial Process: How to Avoid It, Jonathan I. Epstein

Part III looks at malpractice litigation from the practicing physician's viewpoint, and the role a physician plays to actively defend themselves in a lawsuit.

Communication and Patient Safety, Mark Gorney
E Medicine in the Physician's Office, Edward Fotsch
Risk Management for the Family Physician, Malcolm H. Weiss
Emergency Medicine, Michael Jay Bresler
Anesthesiology, Ann S. Lofsky
Malpractice and Medical Practice: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jack M. Schneider
Breast Cancer Litigation, Richard E. Anderson and David B. Troxel
Pap Smear Litigation, David B. Troxel
Medical Liability in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Mark Gorney

Part IV looks ahead, discussing the Case for Legal Reform, taking a broader perspective on aspects of our entire health care system and its interface with law and public policy.

The Case for Legal Reform, Richard E. Anderson
Health Policy Review: Medical Malpractice, David M. Studdert, Michelle M. Mello, and Troyen A. Brennan
New Directions in Medical Liability Reform, William M. Sage

"...well written and provides important insights into medical malpractice..." - Practical Gastroenterology

"...a useful book...valuable insights throughout the book..." - JAMA

"...this book is of great interest for all physicians, especially those who work in a hospital or a public health care system." - Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology

"It is a good overview from many perspectives in the medical malpractice field. … this book will be very useful for residents and the early years of practice. It will also help any practicing anesthesiologist to get a very good overview of what’s going on with the very alarming increase in medical malpractice cases and awards as well as the attempts at tort reform that have been continuously blocked by the plaintiff’s bar and their supporters in Congress." - Frederic A. Berry, Anesthesia & Analgesia

For a public policy debate, the authors spell out the case for legal reform, suggest changes in medical–legal jurisprudence that can be of immediate benefit, and reflect on the broader problems of our entire health care system and its interface with law and public policy.

(information provided by the publisher)

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