Valleywide Legal Blog

Medical Record Confidentiality.

As patients, we have an expectation that our medical records will remain confidential. After all, there are few records more personal than our medical records, which may describe the most intimate details of our personal lives. Confidentiality is important to … Read More

Posted in Doctors, electronic medical records, Fraud, Health Insurers, Hospitals, medical charts, medical ethics, Nurses, Secrecy | Tagged , |

The Hospital Says, “This is not a bill,” But You May Still Have to Pay It.

If you are injured in an automobile accident, you may find yourself at the Emergency Department. Maybe your injuries are minor enough that you can be discharged to home. Maybe they are more serious and you need to be admitted … Read More

Posted in Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Medical Costs, plaintiff, Secrecy | Tagged , , |

Our Drug Development Model and Drug Supply Chain Are Broken.

One of the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic is that our drug development model and drug supply chain are broken.  Our western capitalist system has served us well for many years.  It provided products at a low price, which allowed … Read More

Posted in drug companies, Fraud, health, Health Care Costs, Lawsuits, Medical Costs, Medical Devices, Medicare, Pharmacies, Secrecy, Vaccines |

Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste.

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended many aspects of our individual lives and the economic life of our country as well. We will be adjusting to its effects for many years to come. Some businesses are looking to use the emergency … Read More

Posted in Doctors, health, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice damages caps, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Nurses, plaintiff, Secrecy, tort reform, trial |

Another Perspective on Healthcare Consolidation

Here is a piece that a friend of mine sent me.  It appeared in a healthcare blog.  It recounts a probably fictional event in which a doctor saw a briefing paper intended for a hospital executive but accidentally left behind … Read More

Posted in Doctors, electronic medical records, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, medical charts, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Secrecy |

An Unethical Outrage.

How would you like to be kept alive in a permanent vegetative state for a year just so your hospital can continue to make money?  That is what happened to at least one patient at a hospital in New Jersey … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Fee for Service, Fraud, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, Informed Consent, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medicare, never events, Secrecy |

Medical Malpractice Claims Are Unfairly Blamed for Rising Medical Costs.

Last month, I blogged on the alarmingly high rate of preventable medical injuries occurring in hospitals.  The blog post was based on a well-designed study of randomly-selected Medicare patients discharged from hospitals over a one month period of time.  The … Read More

Posted in arizona certified medical malpractice lawyers, Defensive Medicine, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Finding a Medical Malpractice Lawyer, Health Care Costs, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, Malpractice costs, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice damages caps, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical malpractice lawyers, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Medicare, Secrecy, tort reform, trial |

Why Your Local Non-Profit Hospital Makes So Much Money.

We are all familiar with non-profit hospitals.  They are pillars of the community.  They may provide free or nearly free care to the needy or they may do free medical research for the public good.  The one thing they don’t … Read More

Posted in Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, Medical Costs, medical ethics, medical research, Medicare, Nurses, Secrecy |

Medical Malpractice Secrecy.

Doctors and hospitals win 85% to 90% of the medical malpractice cases tried across this country.  This percentage holds true even when the facts strongly favor the patient.  Why can’t patients get a favorable verdict from their fellow citizens?  There … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice damages caps, medical malpractice lawsuits, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, plaintiff, Secrecy, tort reform, trial |

Malpractice Secrets in Florida.

Florida is one of the states in which the state legislature fell for the argument that there was a medical malpractice crisis that required taking away the rights of patients in order to protect doctors, hospitals and their insurance companies.  … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, Malpractice costs, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice damages caps, medical malpractice lawsuits, Medical Negligence, Secrecy, tort reform |