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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 4, 2012

May 04, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

Mednax division buys anesthesiology practice
American Anesthesiology, a division of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Mednax, has acquired physician group practice Brazos Anesthesiology Associates, Bryan, Texas, for an undisclosed amount of cash.
CMS delays data collection for Sunshine Act to 2013
The CMS has again extended the implementation of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and will not require drug and device manufacturers to begin collecting data on payments to providers until 2013.
Amcom buys system for speedy test-results delivery
Amcom Software, a Minneapolis company that specializes in critical communications technologies for healthcare, education, government and other sectors, has acquired a clinical test results-management system from Pewaukee, Wis.-based IMCO…
Highmark launches GPO
Highmark, the Pittsburgh insurer seeking to acquire a distressed health system, announced the launch of ProtoCo Supply Chain Partners, a group-purchasing and supply-chain services organization.
Busts made in Lilly drug theft
Law enforcement officials have recovered more than

… (Continued…)

Whitney Houston Final Coroner Report Leaves Death a Mystery

May 04, 2012 lawmed No comments

The Los Angeles County Coroner released his final report on the death of Whitney Houston earlier this month. In keeping with our tradition begun in the Michael Jackson case, we are presenting our analysis of the findings. We also present our usual disclaimer that we are not experts in forensic toxicology or pathology. At the same time the information we present either IS in our expertise or has been well researched. We had previously reported on the findings of the coroner after his office held a new reference last month. At that time Law Med expressed concerns regarding the statements of the coroner’s office regarding a cardiac event having led to drowning. We now address the issues in-depth. Comments are of course welcome, very much including those which disagree or point out errors.

Between 2:45 and 3:00 pm on 2/11/2012, Whitney Houston’s personal assistant left Houston alone in room … (Continued…)

Drug Shortages Epidemic In Anesthesiology

May 03, 2012 lawmed 1 Comment

There is no end in sight to the now business as usual reality of drug shortages in medicine. Anesthesiology is hit particularly hard in the number of medications which are not being manufactured to meet demand. Here is a list of medications common to anesthesia practice which the FDA lists as being in short supply, and the reasons given. It contains the three most frequently administered medications in the practice of anesthesia: propofol, fentanyl and midazolam. Law Med points out that it is no coincidence that only drugs which are off patent and now generics seem to have shortages.

Alfentanil Injection Material shortage and increased demand.

Atracurium besylate Manufacturing delays.

Atropine Sulfate Injection Manufacturing delay and increased demand.

Bupivacaine Hydrochloride Injection Manufacturing delay.

Calcium Chloride Injection Manufacturing delay.

Chloroprocaine (Nesacaine) Injection Increased demand and manufacturing delay.

Etomidate Injection increased demand and manufacturing delay.

Fentanyl Citrate Injection Manufacturing delay causing increased … (Continued…)

Breaking Healthcare News May 2, 2012

May 02, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

Senators ask providers to weigh in on fraud prevention
A bipartisan group of six lawmakers from the Senate Finance Committee issued an open letter to healthcare providers, payers and patients seeking input on better ways to prevent waste and fraud in healthcare, including ideas on improving the current…
TeamHealth continues Mid-Atlantic expansion
TeamHealth, Knoxville, Tenn., has acquired the Exigence Group, a physician staffing company based in Amherst, N.Y., in a move that TeamHealth said would help it capitalize on the growing urgent-care segment.
HHS awards $10.4 million for rural health
HHS announced the awarding of $10.4 million in grants to 70 rural providers as part of the first round of funding for three-year direct healthcare projects in their communities.
HealthNow New York names Ram CMO
HealthNow New York, which includes Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York and Blue Shield of Northeastern New York, named

… (Continued…)

CRNA, NP, Sisters And 2 Cops Charged With Federal Drug Violations [VIDEO]

April 30, 2012 lawmed 2 Comments

In a case of ‘how many professionals who we expect better from can band together to run a drug ring’ we turn to Beaufort county North Carolina where 3 nurses, a pharmacist and two police officers have been indicted on federal felony charges for improperly obtaining and distributing controlled substances.

Registered Nurse Practitioner Amanda Bunch had her license to practice suspended by the North Carolina Board of Nursing in 2010 for improperly prescribing controlled substances and only had it reinstated two months ago. Now she’s been arrested on federal charges for the same acts for which her license was suspended. It is alleged that Bunch was writing prescriptions for various pain killers, weight loss medications and sleep aids, all controlled substances, for her two sisters, one a Certified registered nurse Anesthetist and another a pharmacist, as well as a another nurse, a State Highway Patrol sergeant and another police officer, … (Continued…)

Breaking Healthcare News April 30, 2012

April 30, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

Sanford, Medcenter One in merger talks
At the end of last year, North Dakota’s Medcenter One and Sanford Health released statements that said the two systems were talking about working together, but that this didn’t necessarily mean a merger was in the works.
Safety effort targeting handoffs cut errors 40%: Boston hospital
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have developed a specialized set of protocols they say will improve patient handoffs and reduce the risk of adverse events.
Armstrong to lead Fla. health department
Dr. John Armstrong was appointed Florida’s surgeon general and secretary of the state’s health department.
ACPE names Riddles president, board chairman
The American College of Physician Executives has named Dr. Lawrence Riddles as president and chairman of the board.
N.H. hospital trustees seek CMS help on Medicaid reimbursements
The trustees of 10 hospitals in New Hampshire that have sued the state over reductions in

… (Continued…)

KY 17th State To Opt Out Of Medicare CRNA Physician Supervision Requirement

April 27, 2012 lawmed No comments

The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is reporting that Kentucky has become the 17th state to Opt Out of the federal law which requires that a Certified registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) be supervised by any licensed physician who is willing, regardless of specialty training, in order for services to be covered by Medicare or Medicaid. The question now has to be asked what purpose this absurd federal health insurance supervision law even serves at this point. Initially physician anesthesiologists (and now a decade later, like an angry horse trainer next to his dead mount still slinging the whip) shouted dire warnings to the nations elderly that their lives were now in grave danger should they require an anesthetic. This despite the delivery of anesthesia being one of the safest areas of medicine and nursing that exists.

With hundreds of thousands of anesthetics now delivered in multiple states under the … (Continued…)

Breaking Healthcare News April 26, 2012

April 26, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

Tenet announces stock repurchase
Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, has repurchased $299 million in preferred stock on the heels of a strong first quarter performance.
AAMC’s Kirch warns on IPPS cuts
The head of the Association of American Medical Colleges is speaking out against potential payment cuts for teaching hospitals that were included in the CMS’ proposed inpatient prospective payment system rule for fiscal 2013.
FTC backs La. bill easing care rules for advanced-practice nurses
The Federal Trade Commission said it backs proposed Louisiana legislation that would relax care-related rules for advanced-practice registered nurses, saying the measure would support competition and benefit consumers.
Docs earn up to $44,000 for admin tasks: MGMA-ACMPE
Most medical directors spend about three to 10 hours a week on duties associated with the administrative role, but it’s what they do in that time that affects their compensation, according to a report based on

… (Continued…)

Over A Dozen Lawsuits Filed By Nursing Students Against Failed MSU School

April 25, 2012 lawmed No comments

Three more nursing students sue Mountain State University in West Virginia for fraud, breach of contract. Over a dozen such lawsuits have been filed in recent months. See our previous coverage of some of the lawsuits here and here. A former nurse anesthesia program student has also filed suit against their now closed program.

From The West Virginia Record

By Kyla Asbury -Kanawha Bureau

CHARLESTON — Three more cases have been filed by students of Mountain State University’s LPN to BSN Program for fraud and breach of contract.

Charles H. Polk and the Mountain State University Board of Trustees were also named as defendants in the suit.

Amber Whitener, Stacie Scott and Sonia Godbey were admitted into the LPN to BSN Program, according to three complaints filed April 5 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

The plaintiffs claim when they were admitted to the program, they were informed that

… (Continued…)

Breaking Healthcare News April 25, 2012

April 25, 2012 lawmed No comments

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

HITRUST announces cybersecurity center
The Health Information Trust Alliance, a Frisco, Texas-based organization focused on information security, has established a new center dedicated to cybersecurity within the healthcare industry.
NextGen Healthcare parent buys Matrix Management
Quality Systems, Irvine, Calif., has acquired physician-founded revenue-cycle management company Matrix Management Solutions, North Canton, Ohio.
Wishard docs group restructures
Indiana’s Wishard Health Services and more than 100 primary-care and hospitalist physicians on faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine have formed a new organization: Eskenazi Medical Group.
Preventive cardiology group names new president
The American Society for Preventive Cardiology has named Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Stephen Kopecky as president.
Locum Tenens doc group names Phillips president
The National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations elected Interim Physicians executive Frank Phillips as the group’s next president.
EHR adoption still lags for small, rural practices: researchers
Adoption of electronic health-record systems remains higher

… (Continued…)

“Stillborn” Premature Infant Found Alive In Coffin By Mother [VIDEO]

April 14, 2012 lawmed 1 Comment

Five “medical professionals” in the northern province of Chaco, Argentina, have been suspended pending an investigation after a newborn was pronounced dead at birth and shipped off to the morgue only to be discovered alive in a coffin by her mother, Analia Bouter, some 12 hours later. The little girl was born premature at 26 weeks gestation and declared stillborn.

From CBS news:

Bouter told the TeleNoticias TV channel in an interview Tuesday night that doctors gave her the death certificate moments after the girl was born, and that she still hasn’t received a birth certificate. She said the baby was quickly put in a coffin and taken to the morgue’s refrigeration room. Twelve hours passed before she and her husband were able to open the coffin to say their last goodbyes.

That’s when the baby trembled, she said. Bouter thought it was her imagination – then she

… (Continued…)

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