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October 12, 2009 |
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IN THIS ISSUE
Wayne County Health Dept. Needs Your Extra Flu
Vaccine!
Editor's Column: Tort Reform: What Michigan Can
Offer
In My Opinion: Tort Reform: Patronizing Inaction
Henry Ford Physician Named Chair-Elect Of National
Group
Just A Distraction
Obama Administration To Offer Medical Liability
Reform Pilots
Insurers Change Course, Attack Health Care Reform
Children's Holiday Party Donors 2009 |
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Wayne County Health Dept. Needs Your
Extra Flu Vaccine
Wayne County
Department of Public Health saw an increase in the uptake of the
Seasonal Flu Vaccine this season. Therefore, while in previous
seasons we were left with extra seasonal flu vaccine which we were
able to give away, this year we are already running low. I would
appreciate it if the WCMS membership can be queried to see if any
providers have a surplus that they are willing to give to the health
department. Cost of the vaccine to the provider could be reimbursed.
Thank you.
Talat Danish MD,
MPH, FAAP
Medical Director
Wayne County Dept. of Public Health
33030 Van Born Rd
Wayne, MI-48184
Tel: 734-727-7010
Cell: 313-732-7855
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Editor's Column: Tort
Reform: What Michigan Can Offer
By JOSEPH WEISS, MD
In his Sept. 9 speech to Congress on the health care crisis,
President Obama acknowledged the need for changing how medical
malpractice makes its way through our court system.
Many voices call for tort reform. In his speech to Congress,
the president emphasized the expense of frivolous malpractice cases
and the financial burden that defensive medicine places on the cost
of care. Physicians speak eloquently about the prolonged emotional
strain medical malpractice bring to their lives. Medical-legal
experts campaign continuously for legislation that would cap
non-economic damages, limit or even eliminate punitive damages and,
finally, create a sliding scale for plaintiff attorney contingency
fees.
However, response to this rhetoric only leads to repairing
tradition. In contrast, true tort reform would have the following
characteristics:
-
Expediency- a timely settlement of claims so that the injured
and impaired obtain benefits without delay
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Opportunity- ready access to redress
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Openness- errors made known so the medical community can avoid
the same mistakes.
However, the system we have today and the changes being
pursed mean a malpractice suit can still take five or more years for
settlement. What at present is called reform still leaves patients
who are wronged uncertain about how to proceed. Furthermore, no
reform to date touches the tradition that out-of-court settlement
hides error and court proceedings obscure the actual wrong. No one
gains an understanding of what went wrong except the litigants.
For the past four years, the Michigan State Medical Society
has worked on, and in 2008 completed, the Michigan Patient
Compensation Act. This work, a new look at medical error,
accomplishes the goals of expediency, opportunity and openness. The
Patient Compensation Act also provides a better basis for reform
then the currently popular tort alternative, The Medical Court.
Among other advantages, the Michigan plan uses a panel of physicians
to decide a medical malpractice case rather than depending on a
single judge given special education in medical matters.
One week after President Obama’s speech, Health and Human
Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius put out a call for
funding of proposals for pilot studies in tort reform. The Michigan
Plan is ready for such a test.
This column is a call to MSMS to apply for such a grant.
With The Patient Compensation Act, we can give the nation a Michigan
product that will drive the country to a new path of
well-constructed, sustained and dependable tort reform.
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In My Opinion: Tort
Reform: Patronizing Inaction
By ALLAN DOBZYNIAK, MD
The undeniable logic is that management of health care reform,
including cost, without legal reform is not possible. This concept
is actually supported by most stakeholders in health care reform
including the general public.
The cost of defensive medicine has been estimated as
high as $200 billion annually. It distorts medical care, limits
quality and safety initiatives, creates distrust and poisons much of
the satisfaction from practicing medicine. The arguments proposed by
trial lawyers in support of the currently inefficient, cumbersome,
unfair, unreliable medical malpractice legal debacle have been
largely debunked. Unfortunately, none of this appears to matter.
Despite all of these incentives for medical system legal reform,
there is limited if any likelihood of change.
There are huge dollars at stake for the trial lawyers
in supporting the status quo. They are one of the largest
contributors to the Democratic Party. No current congressional
health care bill seriously addresses med-mal reform. The pilot
projects suggested by the secretary of Health and Human Services are
funded by a pitiful $25 million. Even the president has been
effectively silent on the true cost both in dollars, safety, quality
and trust that defensive medicine places on health care. The only
conclusion credibly drawn is that politics trumps logic, and the
trial lawyers will continue to hold 310 million Americans hostage
with true health care reform the victim.
The author of “Tort Reform-What Michigan Can Offer”
is both right and correct. Unfortunately, it is of little matter.
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Henry Ford
Physician Named Chair-Elect Of National Group
Henry Ford
Hospital otolaryngologist Michael D. Seidman, MD, FACS, was named
chair-elect of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck
Surgery Board of Governors.
The election took
place this week at the organization's annual meeting in San Diego.
Dr. Seidman is an
expert on otologic/neurotologic surgical problems, skull base
tumors, cochlear implants, noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus.
He is director of the Division of Otologic/Neurotolgic Surgery in
the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and director of
the Otolaryngology Research Laboratory at Henry Ford. In addition,
he is co-director of the Tinnitus Center and chair of the Center for
Integrative Medicine at Henry Ford, as well as the medical director
of Wellness for Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.
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Just A Distraction
(Editor’s Note: The following is the first paragraph of a Washington
Post blog entry posted by
Mark A.
Kelley, MD, executive vice president for Henry Ford Health System
and chief executive officer of the Henry Ford Medical Group. Please
follow the link below to view the entire entry).
The employer mandate is a distraction in the health-care reform
debate. Most Americans favor universal coverage regardless of
employment. However, no one is sure how this will be funded.
Meanwhile, those with insurance are defending their positions. The
seniors do not want to lose Medicare benefits while those with
employer coverage want to preserve it.
http://views.washingtonpost.com/healthcarerx/panelists/mark_kelley/
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Obama
Administration To Offer Medical Liability Reform Pilots
According to the
AMA, As a direct result of AMA advocacy during his speech before a
Joint Session of Congress, President Obama directed the Department
of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to
fund demonstration projects in states to test medical liability
reform alternatives. The program, which will be overseen by the
Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality (AHRQ), will provide
grants to states and health systems to test models that meet four
goals: 1) Put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable
injuries; 2) Foster better communication between doctors and
patients; 3) Ensure that patients are compensated in a fair and
timely manner for medical injuries, while also reducing the
incidence of frivolous lawsuits; and 4) Reduce liability premiums.
At this time, AHRQ does not expect that state medical associations
will be eligible on their own to apply directly for grants. Rather,
AHRQ envisions that if state medical associations are interested in
participating the grant program, they will have to work with either
a state agency, health system or in a coalition with one or more of
these entities. AMA has reached out to all of the state medical
associations and a number are interested in participating in the
grant program. AHRQ will announce the details of the demonstration
project, including who will be eligible to apply for grants and the
process for applying for grants, in a public notice to be published
in the Federal Register right before or on October 15. Once the
announcement is published, AHRQ plans to host one or more
informational conference calls for key stakeholders, such as state
medical associations and medical specialty societies, that will
include question and answer sessions.
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Insurers Change
Course, Attack Health Care Reform
Insurers Change
Course, Attack Health Care Reform, Predict Huge Premium Increases
Insurers who
backed Democratic attempts to reform the health care system in
America are now attacking the Senate Finance Committee bill, saying
it would cause premiums to increase.
The Associated
Press reports: "Late Sunday, the industry trade group America's
Health Insurance Plans sent its member companies a new accounting
firm study that projects the legislation would add $1,700 a year to
the cost of family coverage in 2013, when most of the major
provisions in the bill would be in effect."
For single
people, premiums would increase $600 more than without health care
reform legislation. In 2019, the insurance companies say family
premiums could be $4,000 higher. The Senate Finance Committee votes
tomorrow on the bill (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/12).
The Washington
Post: "Industry officials said they intend to circulate the report
prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Capitol Hill and promote it in
new advertisements. That could complicate Democratic hopes for
action on the legislation this week." The insurers say premiums
could increase cumulatively between 2010 and 2019 about $20,700 for
a typical family under the reform instead of keeping the current
system. Democrats assailed the report for not taking into account
cost-saving measures like a $25 billion reinsurance fund to keep the
industry from heavy losses incurred if pools of patients are more
unhealthy — and need more care — than healthy (Connolly, 10/12).
The New York
Times: "Scott Mulhauser, a spokesman for Democrats on the Finance
Committee, said: 'This report is untrue, disingenuous and bought and
paid for by the same health insurance companies that have been
gouging consumers for too long. Now that health care reform grows
ever closer, these health insurers are breaking out the same tired
playbook of deception. It’s a health insurance company hatchet
job.'" The study says the new costs would also come from new fees on
insurers, an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans and cuts to the
growth of Medicare, which could force doctors to charge more to
private insurers (Pear, 10/12).
Politico has the
complete, 26-page study and reports that one of its main tenets is
that the "overall impact of these provisions will be to increase the
cost of private insurance coverage for individuals, families, and
businesses above what these costs would be in the absence of reform"
(Budoff Brown, 10/11).
This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with
permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view
the entire
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and
sign up for email delivery. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
All rights reserved.
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Children's Holiday
Party Donors 2009
The following is
a list of contributors to the WCMS Foundation’s 24th
Annual Holiday Party for underprivileged children. This year’s event
is Dec. 5 at the New Detroit Science Center. For more information,
or to contribute, call (313) 874-1360 or visit
www.wcmssm.org
John Kurtz, MD
Dr. & Mrs. Dan
Michael
Mohammed Arsiwala,
MD
Livonia Urgent
Care
Margaret Dowling,
MD
Dr. S. Maitra
George Mogill, MD
Dr. MaryJean
Schenk & David Fry
Dr. Grace Engler
& Ms. Anna Fedor
Dr. & Mrs. Donald
M. Ditmars Jr.
Robert Brent, MD
William Knapp, MD
Nancy Goll
Elizabeth Edmond,
MD
Benjamin Ramos,
MD
Peter Cracchiolo
Robert Borchak,
MD
Julian Alvarez,
MD
Beth Ann Brooks,
MD
Dr. & Mrs. Sajal
Choudhury
William L. and
Betty G. Knapp
Drs. Safwan
Halabi & Razan Asbahi
Joe Weiss &
Marilyn Shapiro
Dr. & Mrs. George
C. Hill
Neela Sripathi
Homer M.
Smathers, MD
Sidney Baskin, MD
John C. Somogyi,
MD
Charla Blacker,
MD
Todd R. Williams,
MD
Iris and Fred
Whitehouse
Joseph M. Beals,
MD
Stephanie Flom,
MD
Dr. & Mrs. Mark
F. Pezda
Eudoro Coello, MD
Christopher W.
Hughes, MD & Debra J. Hughes
Claus Petermann,
MD
Richard D.
Cieslak, MD
Daniel S. Moore
Drs. Peter &
Alice Watson
Drs. Rachel and
Brian Silver
Kathleen
Yaremchuk, MD
Anne-Mare' Ice,
MD
John M. Malone,
MD
Anne Nachazel, MD
Eastside Surgical
Specialists
Paul Mazzara, MD
Dr. Richard
Pollard
Michael G.
Taylor, MD, FACS
Drs. Kenneth &
Deborah Granke
Aaron Lupovitch,
MD
Keith P. Bartold,
MD
Rev. William and
Dr. Mary Logan
Scott Monson, MD
Arthur J.
Frazier, MD
M. Natacha
Umlauf, MD
Phyllis A.
Vallee, MD
Michael
Schaldenbrand, MD
Heidi R.
Gunderson, DO
Paul J. Sullivan,
MD
S.V. Mahadevan,
MD
Indu & Bala Pai
Chris and Janet
Bush
Eve M. VanEgmond,
MD
Taufiek Alhadi,
DO
Gwendolyn H.
Parker, MD
Dr. Ray and Mrs.
Marcia Littleton
Drs. Daniel &
Margarita Morris
Dr. & Mrs.
Laurence E. Stawick
Dr. & Mrs. John
Calwell
S. Rao Talla, MD
Ghaus M. Malik,
MD
Eastlake
Pediatrics PC
Vernon F. Strand,
MD and Jane P. Strand
Martin H. Daitch,
MD
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