UPDATE: Pro Assurance Settles Record Malpractice Verdict In Florida:Mar 16, 2007 ProAssurance has settled a record $217 million verdict in a Florida case, according to reports earlier this week by the Houston Chronicle.

Mayo Study -- Cell Phones OK In Hospitals:Mar 12, 2007 Cell phones do not interfere with medical equipment when used normally in patient care areas of hospitals, according to a study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings

CMS Issues New Restraint and Seclusion Regulations -- More Training Mandated:Dec 18, 2006 Health care workers who employ physical restraints and seclusion when treating patients must undergo new, more rigorous training to assure the appropriateness of the treatment and to protect patient rights, according to a regulation published in the Federal Register December 8, 2006, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Missouri Court Upholds Liability For Call Coverage Issue -- Full Text Opinion:Dec 4, 2006 Full text opinion finds on-call surgeon improperly delegated call to another physician who lacked privileges and failed to notify the ED, resulting in malpractice liability to patient.

Nurse Charged With Felony In Medication Error Death:Nov 8, 2006 Medication error could send nurse to prison for up to 6 years in death of OB patient. By Stephen A. Frew JD.

Med Error Kills Three Infants:Oct 2, 2006 Massive heparin overdoses instead of hep-lock strikes NICU intants.

Armed Robbery of Hospital Shocks Police:Sep 5, 2006 Robber hits hospital pharmacy in OxyContin heist.

CMS Seeks Proposal For Risk Reduction Program:Aug 28, 2006 The demonstration will determine whether health risk reduction programs that have been developed, tested, and shown to be effective in the private sector can be tailored to the Medicare program to help beneficiaries improve their health and thus reduce the need for health care services.

OB Patient Death Leads To Procedure Changes -- Madison, WI:Jul 26, 2006 Grant died after receiving an epidural anesthetic intravenously, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Failure To Use Time-Out Procedure Results In $175,000 Medmal Verdict:Jun 8, 2006 The verdict could be seen as applying liability for non-compliance with the Time-Out standard to everyone on the surgical team

Help For Hospital Emergency Planning:Apr 4, 2006 Many hospitals attempt to plan internally for community disasters without getting involved with the over-all community plan -- and often this leads to "disasterous disaster plans".

Should Patient Opinions Count?:Feb 16, 2006 Researchers worry that patients are being enticed by fancy waiting rooms, friendly receptionists and convenient parking garages rather than the best care providers, according to the Post. By Stephen A. Frew JD.

Iowa Methodist Hospital Settles Fraud Claim:Feb 13, 2006 An Iowa lawsuit alleging that Iowa Methodist Hospital pressured physicians to use specific pacemakers in order to get rebates from the manufacturer has been settled according to reports published in the Des Moines Register. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

Medication Reconciliation Gets Sentinel Event Warning Fro JCAHO:Feb 6, 2006 Medication reconciliation applies to all care settings—including ambulatory, emergency and urgent care, long term care, and home care—as well as inpatient services

JCAHO Proposes Standard For Emergency Generator Test -- Comments:Jan 31, 2006 You have until February 20th to make your opinions known on a proposed change in the Evironment of Care standards from JCAHO By Stephen A. Frew JD.