Valleywide Legal Blog
Doctor Conflicts of Interest Are Getting Worse.
“Under no circumstances may physicians place their own financial interests above the welfare of their patients.” American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics Opinion 11.2.2. Doctors rightly occupy a privileged position in our society. We entrust them with our bodies, … Read More
Posted in Doctors, drug companies, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hip Replacement, Hospitals, joint replacement, Medical Costs, Medical Devices, medical ethics, Medicare, Plastic Surgery, PODS, Prostate Cancer, Secrecy | It Is The Wild West Out There.
In the movies, the wild west is always portrayed as a lawless place in which the sheriff was either outgunned or corrupt and citizens were at the mercy of the bad guys. You had to protect yourself because there was … Read More
Posted in Arizona Medical Board, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Fraud, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, Medical Devices, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, PODS, Secrecy, Surgical Errors | Physician Conflicts of Interest
Physicians occupy a special place in our society. They are respected and honored. They are often well-compensated for their efforts. We trust our doctors. Very few patients ever think that the doctor who is recommending surgery or a particular treatment … Read More
Posted in Doctors, drug companies, Fee for Service, Fraud, health, Health Care Costs, Hip Replacement, Hospitals, joint replacement, Medical Devices, medical ethics, Orthopedics, PODS, Secrecy | Physician Conflicts of Interest
One of the very first of the ethical rules promulgated by the American Medical Association requires doctors to place the welfare of the patient ahead of the doctor’s own self-interest or obligations to others. As life grows ever more complicated, … Read More
Surgeons Continue to Perform Unnecessary Surgeries.
As I have observed on many occasions, medicine is a business and we patients are its customers. It is as true in Phoenix, Arizona as it is in New York or California. Under the fee for service model of payment, … Read More
The Fee for Service Compensation Method: Bad for Doctors, Bad for Patients
The prevailing method for compensating health care providers in this country is the “Fee for Service” model. A doctor doesn’t get paid unless he or she does something to or for you. Keeping you well does not count. As a … Read More
Posted in Defensive Medicine, Doctors, Fee for Service, General Health, health, Health Care Costs, healthy living, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medicare, PODS, Prostate Cancer, Rationing | Big Pharma May Be Paying Your Doctor
It turns out that a lot of doctors in Arizona and elsewhere in the country are receiving very substantial amounts of money from pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers. For the longest time, this information was a closely kept secret. Now … Read More
It’s Not The Lawyers Who Are Greedy
It seems like every day I read about a doctor or a medical group blaming the high cost of medical care or the high cost of health insurance on greedy malpractice lawyers. To hear them tell it, there is no such … Read More
Posted in Health Care Costs, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Malpractice costs, Medical Costs, Medicare, PODS | Tagged medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice caps, medical negligence, tort reform | Buyer Beware, Patient Beware
From time to time we forget that medicine is a business and we patients are its customers. I can assure you that doctors and hospitals are clear on this concept. I don’t mean to suggest that all doctors see you … Read More
