The Doctor Will See You – Log On Now

What would happen if patients could visit a doctor at the touch of a button, no waiting, without leaving their home or workplace? Starting this fall, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota hopes to find out. The insurance company plans to offer its 10,000 employees and dependents the chance to use a “virtual clinic,” an Internet site that can connect them with a doctor for a live 10-minute consultation for a flat fee. Physical exams, of course, are out of the question. But when the system goes live this fall, doctors throughout Minnesota will be able to use a videocam or instant messaging to diagnose and treat anything from headaches to urinary infections in patients they’ve never met in person. The virtual clinic, which will be formally announced this week, is just a pilot project at this point. Blue Cross officials say they want to work out the bugs before rolling it out to the public.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Star Tribune article:

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/42882762.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aU2EkP7K_t:aDyaEP:kD:aUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

For Some Patients With Heart Failure, Light Exercise May Improve Quality of Life

Heart Failure patients who started an aerobic exercise program reported better quality of life after three months, though the activity only modestly reduced their risk of being hospitalized or dying over two and a half years, researchers have found. The results appear to resolve the question of whether it is safe for medically stable patients with heart failure to engage in physical activity, since participants in the exercise group were no more likely to suffer an adverse event than those who were not exercising. Patients with heart failure have traditionally been told to rest, but that recommendation is changing in light of evidence that suggests physical activity is beneficial and may even increase survival rates in some patients. Two studies, to be published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, report data from a controlled clinical trial sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. One analysis found that exercise improved overall well-being, while the other found that it slightly reduced the risk of hospital admissions and death.

Please click on the link below to read the complete New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/health/08heart.html?_r=1&ref=health

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

F.D.A. to Check Safety of Old Devices

Federal regulators said Wednesday that that they would ask makers of some of the riskiest medical devices to prove that their products were safe and effective — a step that critics have said was long overdue. In January, the Government Accountability Office issued a report scolding the Food and Drug Administration for failing for decades to fix its system for reviewing categories of devices that have been on the market since before the enactment of the medical device law in 1976.  Such legacy devices, as they are known, were originally allowed on the market with minimal testing. But in the 1976 law Congress told the F.D.A. to gradually reclassify these older devices and decide which ones needed extensive testing before approval of new versions and which ones did not. The agency never finished that process, leaving 27 different types of devices unexamined — products that include artificial lung membranes, external defibrillators and various pacemaker components.

Please click on the link below to read the complete New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/business/09device.html?_r=1&ref=health

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Board That Disciplines Doctors May Be Reined In

A bill that was the subject of a 5½-hour hearing Tuesday would sharply curtail the powers of the Texas Medical Board if it becomes law. Backers argued that it would bring much-needed transparency and provide greater fairness to doctors whom, some say, the board is persecuting. They especially raised concerns about practitioners of alternative medicine and those who treat conditions such as autism. Opponents, however, said the legislation would leave patients more vulnerable to bad doctors and make it difficult for patients to complain about physicians in a state where the Legislature has made it harder to sue for medical malpractice. In the end, the House Public Health Committee said it would amend House Bill 3816, which also would disclose the names of some complainants to doctors and create an advisory committee to oversee the board. The committee didn’t specify what it might change.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Statesman article:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/04/15/0415medboard.html

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Pennsylvania Law Gives Prescription Power to Nurse-Midwives

A Pennsylvania law that empowers hundreds of nurse-midwives to prescribe drugs finally is in effect, ending the Keystone State’s distinction as the only state that barred the practice. Gov. Ed Rendell signed the bill in 2007 as part of health care reforms that granted certain health care professionals who are not doctors broader authority to provide basic medical care. But the law went into effect only last weekend, because of the time it took to craft rules to implement the law and complete the complicated final review process. It’s “a sign of how slow it is to get things done in Pennsylvania,” said Vivian Lowenstein, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Licensed Midwives. There are about 330 nurse-midwives in the state, although Lowenstein said only about 250 are practicing. To be licensed as a nurse-midwife by the state Board of Medicine, applicants must be registered nurses, have completed a midwife program and adhere to agreements with their collaborating physicians. To prescribe medications, nurse-midwives will be required have a master’s degree or its equivalent, national certification and ongoing training in pharmacology. Among other things, the law also allows nurse-midwives to prescribe medical devices, administer immunizations and order laboratory tests.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Insurance Journal article:

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2009/04/13/99562.htm

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Judge Dismisses Some Claims That Texas Medical Malpractice Caps Violate Plaintiffs’ Constitutional Rights

An East Texas judge has dismissed several claims in a class action lawsuit that the Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform Act of 2003 violates plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.  On March 31, Magistrate Judge Charles Everingham of the Eastern District of Texas, who is handling pre-trial proceedings, submitted his finding that plaintiffs did not plead viable Seventh Amendment, due process or equal protection challenges to House Bill 4.  Trial court Judge T. John Ward for the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas accepted Everinham’s recommendation.  The class action suit filed in the Marshall court on Feb. 25, 2008, seeks to nullify the tort reform act by arguing that the state’s limits on non-economic damages are unconstitutional.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Southeast Texas Record article:

http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/218415-judge-dismisses-some-claims-that-texas-medical-malpractice-caps-violate-plaintiffs-constitutional-rights

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Legislators Raise Fees on Driving, Divorce, Lawsuits Instead of Taxes

If you drive a car, wet a fishing hook, get a divorce or buy a burial plot, some of Florida’s leaders want to dip into your pocket by levying what they call a “user fee.”  A tax by any other name would be as steep. Seeking to plug a $6.1 billion shortfall, budget writers in the Legislature have packed a dozen or so spending bills with higher fees that would affect Floridians from all walks of life: motorists who renew licenses; anglers who fish along the coast; people who file for divorce, sue for injuries or visit a state park. It would cost $20 to register a burial plot. The governor has proposed $529 million in new or increased fees in his budget. Budget-writers accepted some of them, like higher fees for renewing driver’s licenses and filing lawsuits, and ignored others, such as taxing water bottlers 6 cents for every gallon they pump out of the ground. Legislators say the smorgasbord of fees is justified, given the increased cost of providing things like motor vehicle licenses, Highway Patrol troopers, courts and clerks. “If people want to drive, you have to pay a fee,” said Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations. “We haven’t raised some of them for over 20 years.” Others caution that higher fees could create problems. One proposal would impose filing fees of $2,000 for lawsuits involving assets or damages of more than $250,000 including antitrust and intellectual-property cases, medical malpractice, home foreclosures and even divorces. It now costs $295 to file a suit, regardless of the amount of damages sought. The Senate wants to impose a sliding scale of $295 to $2,000.
Please click on the link below to read the complete Sun Sentinel article:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/legislature/sfl-more-fees-b040309sbapr03,0,6103095.story

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

North Carolina Medical Malpractice Arbitration Going Unused

Before it became state law in 2007, a new method of resolving medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors was hailed as a historic détente between physicians and trial lawyers. But with the system more than a year old, there is no evidence anyone has used it. The two biggest malpractice insurers of North Carolina doctors say none of their clients have gone through the special kind of arbitration, which requires both sides’ consent and caps damages at $1 million. If anyone else has used the law that took effect Jan. 1, 2008, it’s not known among the Western North Carolina lawmakers who pushed for it as a way to cut down on rising insurance costs, or the lawyers and doctors groups whose support cleared the way for passage. Some on each side now blame the other for the law sitting idle. “Every time that I have proposed it, it has been refused,” said Waynesville lawyer Mark Melrose, who represents patients. In about six of his lawsuits, he said, doctors’ lawyers refused arbitration or ruled it out from the beginning. “It’s a total failure,” Melrose said of the law. “And I think the doctors and insurance carriers for doctors knew that it was nothing more than a sort of public-relations ploy to suggest that they were willing to arbitrate these claims.” But Karen Still, claims manager for Georgia-based MAG Mutual Insurance Co., said none of the company’s nearly 3,700 North Carolina doctors have ever been invited to use the arbitration. Nor has the company invited the patients, she said. The roughly 7,000 North Carolina doctors insured by Medical Mutual Insurance Co. haven’t used the process either. David Sousa, the firm’s general counsel, blamed trial lawyers. He said they want more than they can win under the $1 million cap. “There are just no plaintiffs’ lawyers who are going to concede at the outset that their case (isn’t) worth more than what the cap is,” Sousa said.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Citizen Times article:

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903290335

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Bill Targets Contingency Fees

How much is a lawyer worth?  Not as much as they think, say advocates of lawsuit reform. Anything they can get, say people such as Billy Davis of Nowata. Legislation in the state House of Representatives would sharply reduce the share of settlements and jury awards that plaintiffs’ attorneys could claim as fees. The bill, a legislative referendum that would bypass Gov. Brad Henry and go directly to voters, is the first shot in an all-out assault by Republicans and business interests on the trial lawyers who are the bane of employers and insurers — and the chief financial support of Democrats. “Any time a lawyer has a 50 percent stake in a case, you have to wonder whose case it really is,” said Rep. Dan Sullivan, R-Tulsa, the author of the referendum, House Bill 1602. Davis sees things differently.  “Whatever the lawyers get, they deserve,” he said.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Tulsa World article:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090215_16_A13_Billya456899

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Florida: Lawsuit Blames Doctors For Alleged MRSA Death

A widow filed court papers last week that blame local health care providers for her husband’s death from a virulent staph infection. The Dec. 29 lawsuit alleges that doctors failed to diagnose Ronald Carl with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – better known as MRSA – when he went to a doctor to have a boil lanced last July. The bacteria that causes MRSA has a variety of symptoms including abscesses that require surgical draining. Instead of taking a culture to determine the type of infection affecting Carl, he was prescribed antibiotics and sent home, the lawsuit states. Several days later Carl was admitted to Oak Hill Hospital to control his high blood sugar and tests revealed he had MRSA. However, he was not told of the infection, nor did staff write the results on his chart or notify his doctor, according to the lawsuit. Carl went home again and his prescribed antibiotics kept the MRSA under “reasonable control” until Sept. 19 and 20 when he visited two other doctors, the lawsuit states. He was diagnosed with “uncontrolled diabetes,” but the abscess on his back was not examined before he was readmitted to Oak Hill Hospital on Sept. 20, the lawsuit alleges. The admitting doctor called several times over that period to check on Carl, but it was 21 hours before he was physically examined around midday Sept. 21, according to the lawsuit. The consulting physician determined that Carl was septic with MRSA and ordered him into the intensive care unit because of Carl’s worsening condition, the lawsuit claims. Carl went into cardiac arrest an hour later, was revived, then died the following morning, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the Oak Hill Hospital staff and the physicians that treated Carl. It bases its request for more than $15,000 in damages on the Florida Wrongful Death Act. That act provides compensation for families who lose loved ones to medical malpractice. Richard Linkul, spokesman for Oak Hill Hospital, could not comment on pending litigation. A message left for the attorney behind the lawsuit, Terry Nelson, was not returned Tuesday. While MRSA can be a fatal infection, there are also thousands of people infected with the bacteria who show no signs of the disease, said Roger Sanderson, an epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health. And while MRSA does cause boils on the skin, there’s no reason to immediately suspect that a patient with a boil is infected by the disease, Sanderson said. “The only way to definitely know is to culture it,” he said. The most common way that MRSA is spread is by person-to-person contact, although it can become airborne if a person is sick with pneumonia. An uncovered draining abscess could create a higher transfer spread, Sanderson said.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Tampa Bay Online article:

http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2009/jan/07/ha-lawsuit-blames-doctors-for-alleged-mrsa-death/

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Doctor Shortage Gives Medical Students Hope

Several prominent medical schools have reported plans to increase enrollment next year in order to meet the nation’s ballooning demand for doctors. According to a Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions survey, 44 percent of the 85 medical schools surveyed said they have considered sending out a greater number of acceptance letters for the 2009 -‘10 academic year. Additionally, one-third of the schools said they were planning to increase their class size by 5 to 15 percent. Kaplan Director of Pre-Health Programs Amjed Mustafa said the decision to admit more students is related to the urgent need for doctors across the country. “There is a looming doctor shortage and everyone is talking about it,” Mustafa said. “But there is a problem of supply of doctors as well as a problem of demand. Our baby boom generation is getting older and retiring, and we’re going to need a lot more doctors” According to Russell Schaffer, Kaplan’s senior communications manager, the Association of American Medical Colleges – which administers the MCAT – recommended in 2006 a 30 percent increase in U.S. medical school enrollment by 2015. Medical schools that participated in the survey include the UCLA and UCSD Schools of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, among others. Mustafa predicted that the results of the survey would provide pre-med students with optimism amid the current diminishing job market. “The admissions process will remain very, very competitive, but generally students know if they want to go to medical school at a very early age so they’re looking for any advantage available to them,” Mustafa said.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Daily Nexus article:

http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=18193

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Pharmacists Given Medical Malpractice Reform Protections

Health care providers grabbed center stage Wednesday with Senate approval of bills putting pharmacists under the medical malpractice reform umbrella and making it a felony to practice medicine without a license. Early in the session, pharmacists and representatives of pharmacies from across the state set up booths in the Capitol to plead for inclusion in massive medical malpractice reforms enacted a few years ago. At that time, clinics were closing and many surgeons were pulling up stakes and leaving West Virginia, with insurance either unavailable or too steep to afford. In the frenzy to approve reforms, however, the pharmacy community was overlooked. And that, says Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, a physician, was a mistake. “They are health care providers,” Stollings said after the passage of SB370 on a 32-0 vote. “They’re doing more than just prescriptions. They are doing counseling and medication adjustments.” Decades ago, the corner pharmacist was a fixture in the white smock and horn-rimmed glasses, but his tasks generally were limited to filling up plastic bottles of pills. All that has changed, Stollings pointed out, and today’s pharmacist provide education, for instance, in the area of diabetes counseling.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Register-Hearld article:

http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_084220310.html

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Surgeons Send ‘Tweets’ on Twitter from Operating Room

It’s 7 a.m. at Henry Ford Hospital, and surgeons are preparing to remove a cancerous tumor from a man’s kidney. It’s potentially a risky surgery, but everything’s ready: The doctors and nurses are in the operating room, the surgical instruments are sterilized and ready to go, and the chief resident is furiously Twittering on his laptop. That’s right — last week, for the second known time, surgeons Twittered a surgery by using social-networking site Twitter to give short real-time updates about the procedure. Following the February 9 operation online were other doctors, medical students and the merely curious. “Here’s something different: HenryFordNews is live tweeting surgery today, getting some buzz, too,” wrote one Twitter participant from Massachusetts. “I find this fascinating!” tweeted another Twitter user from Swansea, United Kingdom. “It’s an interesting use of technology, but I can’t help but feel a bit ‘eeewww!’ about this,” wrote a third tweeter from New York. Whether it’s new and cool or merely yicky, observers say there’s no question that more and more doctors — and patients — will be sharing the blow-by-blow of medical procedures on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Dr. Craig Rogers, the lead surgeon in the Henry Ford surgery, said the impetus for his Twittering was to let people know that a tumor can be removed without taking the entire kidney. “We’re trying to use this as a way to get the word out,” Rogers said.

Please click on the link below to read the complete CNN article:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/17/twitter.surgery/index.html

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Get New Window?

If you see doctors in white coats roaming the state Capitol today, don’t fear an epidemic: It’s simply the state Medical Society’s annual lobby day, when members visit with lawmakers to air their concerns.This year, it’s the doctors who are fearful — due to a legislative push to change the state’s medical malpractice laws. Although malpractice has been a longstanding issue, Democratic control of the state Senate could lead to measures that would make it easier for patients to sue.  While such efforts have been rebuffed by the chamber’s Republicans in past years, a proposal to ease the statute of limitations for malpractice suits has drawn the most attention so far. The measure has been around for nearly a decade, but has never made it out of the Senate Codes committee — until last month. It could be up for debate in the next few weeks. “This is the law everywhere else,” said Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-New York. The new Codes committee chairman noted that only four other states (Arizona, Idaho, Maine and South Dakota) have limitations similar to New York’s.

Please click on the link below to read the complete Times Union article:

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=775697&category=REGION

The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters.  The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.