Health Care Businesses – AirportMD, Pharmacies – “Take Off” at Airports

Reluctant to deal with the hassles of airport security, sales executive Michael D’Souza generally packs the syringes he needs for his daily medication in a bag that he checks when he travels. The strategy backfired for the Toronto resident recently when he needed the medication while he was stuck during a four-hour delay at Newark Liberty. D’Souza found new needles when an airport customer service rep told him about a pharmacy that opened late last year in Terminal C. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pharmacy at an airport,” he says. “But I thought: What a good idea. People are traveling sick all the time.” Pharmacies and walk-in health clinics are opening at more airports in the USA, hoping to capture a sizable portion of travelers and airport employees who want access to basic primary health care and to fill their prescriptions at the last minute. Such facilities are common at large foreign airports, but domestic airports have mostly focused on services that cater to travelers’ immediate needs. Several entrepreneurs are betting that there’s pent-up demand for such services at airports in the USA.

Please click on the link below to read the ABC News article:

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/BusinessTravel/story?id=4608404&page=1

For more information on defending medical malpractice, nursing home and general liability matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at Citron & Associates, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Web Sites Can Make Shopping for the Right Hospital Easier

It’s not unusual for consumers to spend weeks of research before choosing a car, an appliance or a vacation package. But a hospital? “The time to choose a hospital is not when you’re having chest pain at the mall,” said Jerod Loeb, executive vice president for quality measurement and research for The Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest and largest health-care accrediting body. That may not be the best example, anyway, since the ambulance that whisks you from the mall will likely take you to the nearest hospital rather than the one you’ve carefully researched and chosen. Your choice of hospitals also may be limited by your health-insurance plan or by where your doctor has privileges. But in many cases, consumers can decide where to have a surgical procedure such as a heart catheterization, a knee replacement or an appendectomy. Until recently, hospital-shopping was a near-impossible task, but hospitals have entered a new age of transparency, says Loeb and other health-care experts. There are literally dozens of Web sites offering ways to compare and contrast hospital care. Loeb said standardized measures on clinical conditions have been around only since 2002, and only in the past couple of years has the information been made widely available to consumers.

Please click on the link below to read the Orlando Sentinel article:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/consumer/orl-hospitals1508apr15,0,3377169.story

For more information on defending medical malpractice, nursing home and general liability matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at Citron & Associates, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Minnesota Physician Can Sue Doctors Critical of Courtroom Testimony

A recent Minnesota trial court ruling raises questions about whether medical specialty societies should serve as sentinels over expert witnesses in the courtroom. A Hennepin County District Court judge tossed out claims that the American Academy of Ophthalmology defamed Charles Yancey, MD, when its ethics committee examined his statements as a plaintiff expert in a medical malpractice case. The investigation followed a complaint made by two academy members. Ophthalmologists Jeffrey R. Weis, MD, and David R. Hardten, MD, were defendants in the lawsuit and accused Dr. Yancey of giving misleading testimony. The court said Dr. Yancey, as an AAO member, agreed to abide by the academy’s ethical rules and regulations, which include a peer review system for questionable medical testimony. The judge dismissed claims that the AAO and Drs. Weis and Hardten had conspired to intimidate Dr. Yancey from testifying in future cases. But the court allowed Dr. Yancey to sue the two doctors individually for allegedly besmirching his reputation when they filed their grievance with the AAO. The trial is expected to begin in August.

Please click on the link below to read the American Medical News article:

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/04/21/prsb0421.htm

For more information on defending medical malpractice, nursing home and general liability matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at Citron & Associates, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.