Risk Prevention in Ophthalmology

ISBN-13: 9780387733401 / Angielski / Miękka / 2008 / 288 str.

Marvin Kraushar

Opis

Just as patients do not come to a medical office with the intention of suing the p- sician, physicians have no intention of harming their patients. The extensive tra- ing physicians undertake and the nature of the services they provide make them dedicated to doing their best for the well being of their patients. Medical training itself inculcates physicians with the philosophy of not making mistakes. The cri- rion for establishing medical malpractice is negligence on the part of the physician that is the proximate cause of an injury suffered by the patient. The definition of negligence refers to an unintentional act or failure to act. If a physician acts in a negligent manner regardless of whether he or she causes harm to a patient, it is an unintentional error. Allegations of negligence are thus not simply a legal challenge for physicians but are also a professional and psychological affront. It is very uns- tling for the physician who acts with the best of intentions to face the allegation that his or her care was negligent. For physicians, who are trained to search for the truth, the process of litigation is antithetical to their manner of reasoning. The adversarial system of the law is not necessarily a search for the truth but rather the selective presentation of only that e- dence that is favorable to the plaintiff or to the defendant."

Spis treści

Definitions of medical malpractice and examples (Allegations * Maloccurence) * Causes of litigation (* Poor communication * Physician-patient relationship * Informed consent * Poor result) * Physician-patient relationship: practical and philosophical considerations * Informed consent (* History * Theory * Rationale * Procedure) * Poor results (* Cataract surgery * Retinal detachment * Prescribing & drugs * Glaucoma * Trauma & Intraocular foreign bodies * Medical retina * Retinopathy of prematurity * Anesthesia * Oculoplastic * Strabismus * Tumors * Neuro-ophthalmology * Miscellaneous) * Why patients sue (Plaintiff attorney author MD/JD) * The plaintiff’s attorney (plaintiff attorney author MD/JD) * The defense attorney (defense attorney author MD/JD) * Ophthalmic malpractice lawsuits with large monetary awards * Medical records (* Office chart * Hospital record) * The four most effective risk prevention techniques (* Good result * Physician-patient relationship * Informed consent * Documentation) * Identifying and managing the litigious patient * Natural history of a medical malpractice claim (* Request for records * Summons and complaint * Narrative interview * Hiring your own attorney * Selection of an expert witness * Discovery * Interrogatories * Examination before trial (deposition) * Consideration of settlement * Trial testimony and courtroom behavior * Damages * Appeal * Countersuit) * Testifying as an expert witness.

O autorze

Dr. Kraushar is an adjunct professor at Mt. Sinai in New York, but spends the bulk of his time in private practice. Dr. Kraushar has been in practice for nearly twenty years and had published literally dozens of articles in the most highly cited ophthalmology journals discussing the issue of medical malpractice. Unusual among presenters at the American Academy of Ophthalmology because he is not primarily an academic doctor, he nonetheless has chaired multiple symposia at the AAO annual meeting on the subject.

Blurb

In Risk Prevention in Ophthalmology, many of the questions surrounding medical malpractice are answered clearly, concisely and pragmatically for physicians, by physicians. Written with an emphasis on clinical matters, this book shows ophthalmologists how to avoid lawsuits in the first place. What does "risk assessment" mean in the real world? How truly informed are your patients after signing your consent forms? Do your patients have reasonable expectations regarding outcomes? Are your history-taking and record keeping habits leaving you exposed? Are you sufficiently careful with documentation? What is quality assurance?

TOPICS COVERED: Causes of litigation. Poor communication. Cataract surgery. Retinal detachment. Prescribing and drugs. Glaucoma. Trauma and Intraocular foreign bodies. Medical retina. Retinopathy of prematurity. Anesthesia. Oculoplastic. Strabismus. Tumors. Neuro-ophthalmology. Why patients sue. The four most effective risk prevention techniques. Identifying and managing the litigious patient. Natural history of a medical malpractice claim. Hiring your own attorney. Selection of an expert witness. Discovery. Interrogatories. Examination before trial (deposition). Consideration of settlement. Trial testimony and courtroom behavior.  Damages w Appeal.

Covering the legal issues for all of the areas of subspeciality in ophthalmology, Risk Prevention in Ophthalmology provides the busy clinician with the tools necessary to reduce not only the risk of potential lawsuits, but also insights for coping with actual ones.