Thursday, May 19, 2011

Article: How Courts Protect Unjustified Hospital Peer Review Actions

I have recently read a very inetersting article that I wanted to share with you, and you can reach at: http://www.jpands.org/vol16no1/kadar.pdf
Published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons - Volume 16 Number 1. Spring 2011.

How Courts Are Protecting Unjustified Peer Review Actions Against Physicians by Hospitals
The author: Nicholas Kadar, M.D., J.D.

"Nevertheless, courts have consistently misinterpreted the legal effect of HCQIA’s presumption of immunity as increasing the physician’s burden of proof, and as creating an almost insurmountable obstacle to prove that the hospital’s actions did not meet the standards of § 11112(a). For example, a panel of the Third Circuit, which included future Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, declared: “The HCQIA places a high burden on physicians to demonstrate that a professional review action should not be afforded immunity.” This is simply not true. A physician’s burden to rebut the presumption of immunity is the lowest known to the civil law -

For the full article, go to: http://www.jpands.org/vol16no1/kadar.pdf

Nicholas Kadar, M.D., J.D., LL.M. is a gynecologic oncologist and member of the New Jersey Bar.

More Suicides Among Surgeons Aged 45 and Older

On April 4 I tweeted: Depression and suicide among physicians — Current Psychiatry Online http://t.co/yZ9q4Yk

Now a new article on the website of Physician's Weekly reports on a recent study from the Archives of Surgery

The members of the American College of Surgeons were sent an anonymous cross-sectional survey in June 2008. The survey included questions regarding SI and use of mental health resources, a validated depression screening tool, and standardized assessments of burnout and quality of life.

“We know the lifetime risk of depression among physicians is similar to that of the general population, which suggests factors other than depression may be contributing to increased risk of suicide among physicians,” Tait D. Shanafelt, MD, tells Physician’s Weekly. “The influence of professional characteristics in forms of distress and depression, such as burnout, has been largely unexplored.”

Physician's Weekly reported that "According to Dr. Shanafelt, in addition to burnout, there appear to be occupational risks for having suicidal thoughts: A three-fold increased risk for suicidal thoughts was reported for surgeons who made a recent major medical error."