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Supervision Of CRNAs Does Not Create Liability For Surgeons

By Greg Stocks, The Law Med Blog

While any author certainly prefers that the reader take the time to read his or her work in its entirety, for Read More »

MSU Enrolled Anyone With A Pulse For The Money, Fired Non Pulse-Taking Recruiters

We first turned our attention to West Virginia’s Mountain State University when a former student in their then probationed and now defunct school of nurse anesthesia. Christy BrewerRead More »

What Killed Whitney Houston: More Questions Than Answers, Murder?

Law Med has recently been mulling over the idea of starting a dedicated “Celebrity Toxicology” page on this blog. There certainly is enough material to justify it and Read More »

CA Appeals Ct Says Nurse Anesthetists Can Practice Without Doc Supervision

The California First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco handed down their ruling Thursday that highly trained Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) can continue to practice anesthesia Read More »

Lawsuits For Unauthorized Release Of Private Medical Information

We have previously written that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), while requiring private health information be kept private, does not allow Read More »

Breaking Healthcare News May 16, 2012

May 16, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

Urgent-care chain Solantic expands, rebrands
Solantic, the chain of urgent-care centers that Florida Gov. Rick Scott founded in 2001, is expanding and changing its name to CareSpot Express Healthcare.
CDC panel calls for team approach on blood pressure
An expert panel is advising a team-based approach to controlling high blood pressure, a condition that affects 68 million American adults and costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $130 billion annually.
TriZetto company buys doc-pay software specialist
TriZetto Group, a Denver-based healthcare information technology services provider, has acquired physician reimbursement software company NHXS.
Consumers see hospital, doc-office prices rise
Consumer prices for hospital services climbed 0.6% in April after the prior month’s increase of 0.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. The figures are seasonally adjusted. For April 2011, consumer hospital…
Wolters Kluwer finds pharma analytics buyer
Symphony Technology Group has acquired Source

… (Continued…)

Dental Practice Faces Lawsuits Over Patient Sexual Assaults By CRNA

May 13, 2012 lawmed 5 Comments

Dental practice faces suits over videotaped sexual assaults

From the Atlantic Journal Constitution

By Christopher Seward

A pair of civil lawsuits have been filed months after a Cobb County nurse anesthetist was sent to prison for sedating female dental patients awaiting surgeries and sexually assaulting them as they lay unconscious.

Paul Patrick Serdula, who was sentenced to life plus 25 years, also videotaped his assaults on the patients, among them a 15-year-old girl.

The parents of the teenager and another, adult patient filed lawsuits this week against Goldstein, Garber & Salama LLC, the Marietta dental practice that performed the surgeries and hired Serdula to administer the anesthesia.

Efforts were made Friday to obtain comment from Goldstein, Garber & Salama and Drs. Maurice Salama and David Garber, who are named in the lawsuit.

“If you can’t be safe in an operating room where they are permitted to render you totally unconscious, … (Continued…)

Judge Rules Charges Against NV Physician In Hepatitis C Case Stand

May 13, 2012 lawmed No comments

Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair rejected defense attorney Richard Wright’s argument that the 35-page indictment returned in June 2010 against former physician Dipak Desai was unconstitutionally vague and confusing on Thursday. Desai was a prominent Las Vegas physician and state medical board member who operated clinics where health officials say patients became infected with hepatitis C in 2007.

Prosecutors allege that Desai was trying to save money at his Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada and Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center and orchestrated a scheme that required staff to use the anesthetic propofol that remained in previously opened vials on multiple patients, and to reuse colonoscopy scopes and bite plates from patient to patient during outpatient procedures. Propofol is well-known to allow rapid growth of bacteria and viruses due to its high protein content.

Desai recently lost a 2 year battle to have himself declared incompetent to stand trial after … (Continued…)

Breaking Healthcare News May 12, 2012

May 12, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

IMedX buys Accumed Script
Shelton, Conn.-based iMedX announced its acquisition of Accumed Script, a Columbus, Ohio-based medical-transcription firm, according…
Erlanger names Creel interim CMO
Erlanger Health System, Chattanooga, Tenn., has named Dr. James Creel interim chief medical officer, effective May 14.
Hospital PPI rose 0.3% in April; doc-office figures dip
Wholesale acute-care hospital prices increased 0.3% in April for the second straight month, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index.
IRS to accept comments on changes to Form 990
The Internal Revenue Service said it will briefly accept comments about changes to the Form 990 that were prompted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
AMA repeats call to halt ICD-10 adoption
The American Medical Association has renewed its call to hit the pause button on the national adoption of the ICD-10 diagnostic and procedural codes.
RUC physician fee lawsuit

… (Continued…)

Medical Discovery News: The case against Propofol

May 10, 2012 lawmed No comments

From Medical Discovery News By Norbert Herzog and David Niesel.

Most people had never heard of the drug propofol until Michael Jackson died from an overdose. His doctor was recently convicted and sentenced for being reckless when he administered the general anesthetic.

Since Jackson’s death, several scientific papers have begun urging the US Drug Enforcement Administration to regulate the drug. You may already be asking, though – why would anyone use propofol recreationally?

Within seconds, it acts on a person’s central nervous system, sedating them. A mistake can cause a drop in blood pressure, obstructed airway, respiratory failure, and even death. With such high risks, propofol does seem only useful in medical settings on surgical and intensive care patients who are highly monitored.

Before officials could classify it a controlled substance, they’d have to ask, “Is propofol being abused?” One condition for abuse is first documenting recreational use. Recent scientific … (Continued…)

Breaking Healthcare News May 10, 2012

May 10, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

Hospital board OKs acquisition by Indy system
The board at Howard Regional Health System, Kokomo, Ind., has approved the deal for the two-hospital system to be acquired by Indianapolis-based Community Health Network, according to a news release.
Von Eschenbach joins Banyan board
Banyan Biomarkers, based in Alachua, Fla., has elected Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach to its board of directors, according to a news…
Large variability in knee surgeries found
The duration, length of stay and complication rates associated with total knee replacement surgery vary significantly from one hospital to another, according to
VA awards contract to Harris Corp.
The Veterans Affairs Department’s Office of Information Technology awarded a $2 million contract to Harris Corp., the healthcare information technology company said.
DME bidding program seen as success; further study urged
The first year of the DME competitive-bidding program was successful, but more experience with competitive bidding is needed

… (Continued…)

Propofol Shortage: The Economic Problem of a Generic Injectable

May 10, 2012 lawmed No comments

From MedCityNews By Frank Vinluan

Propofol drug shortages: The economic problem of a generic injectable

Propofol might best be known as the anesthetic Michael Jackson used inappropriately as a sleeping aid. Administered properly, the drug widely is used in hospitals to sedate patients. It also happens to be part of an industrywide drug shortage affecting hospitals throughout the country.

Injectable drugs maker Hospira (NYSE:HSP) is among the dwindling number of propofol manufacturers. The company recently restarted propofol production after a stoppage at its manufacturing plant in Clayton, North Carolina. The stoppage was voluntary and temporary, CEO Michael Ball said during during the company’s conference call to discuss first quarter financial results. Without going into detail, Ball said that Hospira has “completed corrective action” at the plant and propofol production has restarted. But restarting production isn’t a solution to the industrywide propofol shortage. And it’s not Hospira’s fault. Blame economics.

Three … (Continued…)

Breaking Healthcare News May 9, 2012

May 09, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

North Suburban opens free-standing ER
HealthOne’s North Suburban Medical Center, a 128-bed hospital in Thornton, Colo., has opened a free-standing, 24-hour emergency room. The 10,000-square-foot facility is located roughly seven miles from North Suburban and will offer the same services…
Former exec receives three-year sentence
David Rosen, a former health system CEO who was convicted in September for fraud and conspiracy to commit bribery, was sentenced to three years in prison by a U.S. District Court judge.
Renowned MetroHealth cardiologist dies
Dr. David Rosenbaum, chief of the division of cardiology and director of the Heart & Vascular Center for the MetroHealth System in Cleveland, died May 5 in Cleveland. He was 54.
CMS listens to AMA panel 87.4% of time
Those who say the CMS follows the suggestions of the American Medical Association’s Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (commonly known as “the RUC”) 90% of

… (Continued…)

Mountain State Univ Officials Meet With HLC Over Accreditation

May 08, 2012 lawmed No comments

Mountain State University officials met Monday in Chicago with five trustees from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to present the school’s case for continued general accreditation of the university as a whole. This follows an Order to Show Cause as to why accreditation should continue and a site visit from the HLC. The HLC will determined MSU’s fate at a June meeting. If continued accreditation is denied the future of the university continuing to operate is grim.

Interim President Dr. Richard Sours presented changes the school has made to address concerns the commission had regarding governance, leadership and faculty, as expressed in its June 2011 Show Cause Order said Dr. Jerry Ice, president of the Mountain State University Board of Trustees. Sours, supported by a group of officials, including Chief Academic Officer Dr. Roslyn Clark-Artis, made the presentation to the commission. “He … (Continued…)

Kentucky Paramedic Sentenced To 2 Years For Tampering With Fentanyl

May 08, 2012 lawmed 2 Comments

MONTICELLO, Ky. – U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove sentenced former paramedic 49-year-old Susie Willis to two years in prison Thursday for tampering with pain medication carried on the ambulance.

In May of 2010, Willis admitted she broke the seal on at least two medication vials containing the intravenous narcotic fentanyl citrate. She withdrew the medicine for her own personal use and then in an effort to avoid detection refilled the vials with saline solution. She resealed the vials with crazy glue. Presumably the saline was administered to subsequent patients who were in pain and would have provided no relief.

Willis’ plea agreement stated that the saline solution could have caused “extreme physical pain or impairment of bodily functions” if administered to a patient instead of the intended fentanyl. She surrendered her EMT license in December of 2010.

Under federal law she must serve 85% of her prison sentence … (Continued…)

Oklahoma Supreme Court Stops Personhood At Conception Ballot Measure

May 07, 2012 lawmed 1 Comment

The Oklahoma Supreme Court last week unanimously rejected as unconstitutional a ballot measure that would have asked voters to grant human embryos “personhood” rights this coming November. The proposed state constitutional amendment would have included “the beginning of biological development” in the definition of a human being.

“The United States Supreme Court has spoken on this issue,” Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor wrote for the court. “The measure is clearly unconstitutional pursuant to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992). The states are duty bound to follow its interpretation of the law.” The proposed amendment is “void on its face”, said the ruling.

The amendment would have read, “A ‘person’ as referred to in Article 2, Section 2 of this Constitution shall be defined as any human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being to natural death. The inherent rights of such person shall … (Continued…)

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