"Saying they can no longer ignore the rising prices of health care, some of the most influential medical groups in the nation are recommending that doctors weigh the costs, not just the effectiveness of treatments, as they make decisions about patient care." Source: NY Times
How much time is your doctor spending with you?
A recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found medical interns spent 12% of their time in direct patient care. 64% of the interns' time was spent in indirect patient care. 40% of the indirect patient care was spent on the computer.
Error Disclosure Article
The New England Journal of Medicine published an opinion piece on how providers deal with other providers' mistakes. "Although a consensus has been reached regarding the ethical duty to communicate openly with patients who have been harmed by medical errors, physicians struggle to fulfill this responsibility." NEJM - Talking with Patients about Other Clinicians' Errors
Jolly client gets second $4M verdict
Congratulations, once again, to our clients Stephanie Grana and Aubrey Ford in their $4M verdict in Richmond Circuit Court! This is the second $4M verdict for Ms. Grana in the last two months. The case involved legal malpractice related to a complex medical malpractice case. For more information about the case, please visit our Med Mal cases page.
Jolly client gets $4M verdict
Congratulations to our client, Stephanie Grana of Cantor, Stoneburner, Ford, Grana & Buckner, who received a $4 million dollar verdict in Chesterfield County. For more information, please visit our Medical Malpractice page.
Jolly presenting to VA wound care nurses
Dana Jolly is the featured speaker for Virginia's wound care nurses September meeting. Ms. Jolly's presentation, Defensive Nursing for the Wound Care Nurse, focuses on the common pitfalls she encounters in the medical records she routinely analyzes.
Cognitive bias causes errors
"Much diagnostic error is caused by cognitive bias. More than 100 biases affecting clinical decision making have been described, and many medical disciplines acknowledge their pervasive influence on our thinking. Training in critical thinking may ameliorate the problem." Source: Croskerry. N Engl J Med 2013; 368:2445-2448
Study shows effective methods to lower hospital acquired infections
Hospitalization is a high risk activity. Tens of thousands of patients die every year from hospital acquired infections (HAI). Many more become sickened by infections caused by hospital staff. A new study showed a dramatic decrease in these infections by simple, cost-effective methods. Expect swift changes in routine infection prevention protocols. Source: New England Journal of Medicine
Accountable care organizations
Accountable care organizations (ACO) is a newish health insurance model aimed at improving healthcare outcomes and reducing overall costs. ACO providers will lower costs with preventative care and coordinating referrals. Sounds a lot like the old school HMO model. We all know how that turned out. Aetna insurance company has formed three ACOs in Virginia.
Will we find out how much medical care really costs?
Our federal government is releasing its first list of hospital charges for the 100 most common inpatient procedures. "Until now, these charges have been closely held by facilities that see a competitive advantage in shielding their fees from competitors. What the numbers reveal is a health-care system with tremendous, seemingly random variation in the costs of services." Source: The Washington Post
Ovarian Cancer - Wrong treatment?
Are women with ovarian cancer treated properly? Do they understand their best chance of survival means extensive surgery by an experienced GYN oncological surgeon? According to the study showcased in the New York Times, the answer is no.