Comments on: Conservative Hacks Continue to Beat Medical Malpractice Horse http://www.thenewyorkmedicalmalpracticelawblog.com/2009/11/conservative-hacks-continue-to-beat-medical-malpractice-horse/ An overview of New York medical malpractice, products liability and personal injury law, and the news that affects it Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:53:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: throckmorton http://www.thenewyorkmedicalmalpracticelawblog.com/2009/11/conservative-hacks-continue-to-beat-medical-malpractice-horse/comment-page-1/#comment-594 throckmorton Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:30:14 +0000 http://www.thenewyorkmedicalmalpracticelawblog.com/?p=718#comment-594 I cover several EDs, I do not get reimbursed for scans or for that matter most of the patients that I see in those EDs. Yet, the pressure of defensive medicine is there and is very real. I can tell by diagnosis that the patient who comes in with a bad headache has a migraine and can give them some medications and send them off on their way. Since there is a one in 15,000 chance that something else could be going on, I order the scan. The patient can not nor will they pay for the scan. The hospital will eat the cost and try to make it up with payments from those with insurnace. I would love to be able to fall back on "evidence based standard of care" that agrees when a scan is necessary and when one isnt, so that if I do not get a scan I dont get dragged into court. Further, I would like to be able to use the money that we save by these defensive costs to help others. I am writing this as I have a patient in the scanner. His headache is most likely from the crack that he has been smoking and Im sure that it will show some small vessel changes so he will also get a MRI. Another night in the old ED where we make so much money on scans. I cover several EDs, I do not get reimbursed for scans or for that matter most of the patients that I see in those EDs. Yet, the pressure of defensive medicine is there and is very real. I can tell by diagnosis that the patient who comes in with a bad headache has a migraine and can give them some medications and send them off on their way. Since there is a one in 15,000 chance that something else could be going on, I order the scan. The patient can not nor will they pay for the scan. The hospital will eat the cost and try to make it up with payments from those with insurnace.

I would love to be able to fall back on “evidence based standard of care” that agrees when a scan is necessary and when one isnt, so that if I do not get a scan I dont get dragged into court. Further, I would like to be able to use the money that we save by these defensive costs to help others.

I am writing this as I have a patient in the scanner. His headache is most likely from the crack that he has been smoking and Im sure that it will show some small vessel changes so he will also get a MRI. Another night in the old ED where we make so much money on scans.

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