Federation of Physicians & Dentists teams up with Medical Justice®, offering a 10% discount upon joining!

Nothing is worse than having the first appointment of your day interrupted by an unexpected - and unpleasant - surprise. Instead of a woman giving birth or the middle-aged man who’s concerned about his blood pressure, you are faced with a sheriff serving you a summons. And instead of speaking with a patient about what he can do to feel better, you are faced with a lawsuit. Now YOU need to do something to feel better! Taking pre-emptive steps to deter frivolous lawsuits can do just that!

WHAT IS MEDICAL JUSTICE®?

Founded and run by a neurosurgeon, Medical Justice® is a nationally recognized organization offering a proven track record of protection, deterring frivolous lawsuits and holding parties accountable for their actions. Bottom line - members of Medical Justice® are litigated against at a significantly lower percentage (2%) than the national average of 12%.

Each year many groundless malpractice suits are initiated against health care providers, and malpractice premiums are soaring as a result. Despite this dangerous trend, the insurance and legal systems continue to exert pressure on physicians and their representatives to settle frivolous lawsuits in order to minimize their financial risk. This system forces innocent physicians to appear to admit guilt and thus forces them to pay for their misfortune through higher malpractice insurance premiums.

BUT, as a Medical Justice® member, you access a proactive process to prevent frivolous lawsuits. Medical Justice® provides a proven, cost-effective complement to traditional medical malpractice insurance through their patent-protected legal strategies. To learn more about those strategies, call Medical Justice® today at 1-877-633-5878, or visit them at www.medicaljustice.com

Also, try these simple, easy-to-implement methods for reducing your chances of being sued. 

WAYS TO KEEP ATTORNEYS AT BAY!

·  Return pages from your answering service with your cell phone...Plaintiffs frequently allege the doctor did not call them back in a timely  fashion, or even at all. If you call from a land line, there is no record of the call being made. Call from a cell phone and a record is created. Won’t patients abuse the privilege and call you directly on your cell? Generally not.

 ·  Now that you’ve called the patient back, document what was said. It is too easy to give advice and ignore the paper trail. If you use an electronic medical record, log-in, and record. If you have access to call-in transcription service, use it. If not, create a separate voice mailbox on your office phone to be used for transcription of after-hours messages.

·  Charting: Speak ill of your patient at your peril...Resist the temptation to pepper the chart describing your patient as “hysterical,” “histrionic,” or “crazy.” If you are wrong, you will pay dearly. Even if you are right, you may pay dearly. Keep it professional.

·Document what you did NOT do. Although is sounds counterintuitive, there are time it makes eminent sense to document what was NOT
done. Sometimes, there is extensive literature explaining the merits of following a particular algorithm for a particular condition, but, for a variety of reasons, you might choose, in your judgment, to forego such treatments. The default assumption by a plaintiff’s attorney will be, “that if it was not documented, you were unaware of such standards fro treatment, and you didn’t even think about it.” But, if you document your reasoning for avoiding such an established treatment, because in your judgment, in this particular case, the risks outweighed the benefits, you will sidestep the allegation you breached a standard of care. It takes two minutes to document. If you address it upfront, it’s an explanation. If you address it after the fact, it’s an excuse.

·  Never, never, never alter the record...If you alter the record after you have been served with the lawsuit, your defense attorney will develop an ulcer. Resist the urge to clarify the record. As noted earlier, documentation before there is a problem is considered an explanation. Documentation addressed after there is a problem it is considered an excuse.

Don’t wait until a frivolous lawsuit threatens your livelihood.

Join the growing community of doctors proactively protecting their practices and reputations.
For more information, call toll free 1-877-633-5878 or visit www.medicaljustice.com