Law & Malpractice

Poor physician communication makes it more likely a patient will file a malpractice lawsuit against you. Here are 10 things to never say to patients.

Measures to protect privacy sound good in theory, but unnecessary protections raise the cost and lower the efficiency of legitimate medical record sharing

A recent interaction involving a patient's mother makes me wonder why we can't dismiss family members and if there's a lawsuit on my horizon.

A recent report from HHS warns physicians about improper use of their EHRs, especially the copy-paste function.

EHR is a burden, and as such, there should be evidence of effectiveness before it is imposed upon physicians and medical practices.

No matter how cleverly structured, schemes to circumvent Stark Law are risky for physicians, and the consequences of failing to comply can be devastating.

Noteworthy items from Physicians Practice.

Medical practices face increasing difficulty collecting from payers, but off-loading the burden to patients is a big mistake.

With implementation of the health law now in full swing, many physicians are wondering how it will affect malpractice costs and claims.

President Obama discussed the Affordable Care Act briefly during the State of the Union address. What more should he have said?

The physician-patient relationship can be terminated for any non-discriminatory reason with proper notice. It is best to do so as cordially as possible.

Angelo Scozia of Willis North America discusses using human capital to mitigate medical practice risk and how to empower your employees.

HHS asserts that a proposed rule is trying to strike a balance between the individual privacy protections of HIPAA and public safety considerations.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, all claims filed under government plans are now on equal footing with ERISA-governed health plan claims.

Here's a sample confidentiality agreement practices can use with their vendors, courtesy of attorney Amy Fehn of HealthLawOffices.com.

Medical practices need to identify, document, and manage vendor relations more so than ever under the HIPAA Omnibus Rule. Here are some steps to help.

Many physicians are squeezing more patient visits into each day. But how many patient visits is too much?

Experts reveal common technology missteps that are putting practices at risk of HIPAA violations.

2014 is going to be harder for most medical practices than many believe mainly due to change apathy and paralysis in dealing with major changes.

Medical practices should be aware of all National Patient Safety Goals, but especially these four in their daily operations.

Health IT and its data is rapidly becoming a powerful tool for the federal government in combating potential healthcare fraud nationwide.

Many physicians fail to review or update their informed consent forms to ensure they comply with state laws, standards of practice, and specific regulations.

As healthcare reform initiatives pick up, malpractice risks may increase for many physicians.

Tech-savvy physicians and health information technology experts to tell us what's to come in 2014.

A new year brings new opportunities - and new challenges - to medical practices. Take our poll to let us know what challenge has you most concerned going into 2014.