Tweet By Tom Murphy Now that the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act has become a reality, Florida is starting to see greater activity in physician and medical-practice consolidation. This consolidation is creating a whole new set of risks and exposures for hospitals, large groups, and ACOs (accountable care organizations), as well as for the

By Bill Gompers During the last few years many studies have revealed an increasing incidence of clinical errors in hospitals as well as office-based medical practices. Previously, it was common practice not to reveal such occurrences.  Considering today’s desire for transparency and established laws, rules, regulations and guidelines, it is widely accepted that patients should

By Bill Gompers During the last few years many studies have revealed an increasing incidence of clinical errors in hospitals as well as office-based medical practices. Previously, it was common practice not to reveal such occurrences.  Considering today’s desire for transparency and established laws, rules, regulations and guidelines, it is widely accepted that patients should

By Wes Caldwell Most medical practices don’t know about the significant liability they have regarding their 401k plans and, even worse, almost none know how the government is dramatically increasing its enforcement actions.  I have talked with many medical practices who think that the service provider or plan administrator has the fiduciary responsibility for their

By Dan Reale Many medical professionals neglect to have a regular check-up on their malpractice insurance.  A check-up can be accomplished in a very short period of time, requires no office visit, and no fee should be charged for the service.  Malpractice insurance is often misunderstood – and many feel that “if it is not

By Matt Gracey The Florida legislature will decide this year about a new proposal from a group in Georgia that is trying to eliminate the tort system for medical-malpractice cases.  They propose to create what they describe as a system similar to but operationally different than our workers’ compensation system.  They are luring doctors into

By Steve Whalen By now you have surely seen those odd looking black and white squares  in magazines, newspapers, on signs, and online? They’re called QR codes (abbreviated from Quick Response code). First designed for the automotive industry by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994 for the purpose of tracking parts, they have recently become

By Matt Gracey No matter the election results, one of the political “no-brainers” of 2012 and on seems to be the continued push of the government to combat Medicare fraud.  After some 30 years of crunching a wealth of internal data, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extensively analyzed outcome numbers and

By Robert E. White, Jr., Sr. Vice President, Regional Operating Officer The Doctors Company/FPIC Yet another large verdict has been rendered against a bare Florida doctor. Most recently, in September 2011, a jury found an OB/GYN and his professional association responsible for failing to detect physical disabilities of a child before it was born and

By Matt Gracey Often in medicine’s tort-reform efforts, we get so focused on the politics of changing unfair laws that we lose sight of the low-hanging fruit.  How many dollars have gone into trying to convince the politicians to limit the number of lawsuits against doctors and hospitals?  How much progress have we really made,