Mass Medical Law Report

Answering when the government comes calling

As most health care professionals are now aware, government investigation and prosecution of fraud among participants in federal health care programs has risen substantially in recent years and shows no signs of abating.

In 2010 alone, more than 3,000 health care professionals and organizations were excluded from participating in government-funded health care programs, primarily Medicare and [...]

Vaccine refusal: Creating bad policy, doctor’s dilemma

Massachusetts has long been recognized for its national leadership on childhood immunization. This achievement is the result of state law requiring children to be immunized for many communicable diseases and, according to the Department of Public Health, an “effective pediatric primary care system that immunizes virtually all children in their medical home and the state’s provision [...]

Mass. receives $10M in Vioxx settlement

Massachusetts will receive $10 million as part of a multi-state settlement with Merck, Sharp & Dohme over the alleged illegal marketing of the painkiller drug Vioxx.

Merck will pay a total of $950 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims in connection with its promotion of the drug, which is no longer on the market.

According [...]

Patient dies without required air machine

A 60-year-old father of three adult daughters had a history of sleep apnea, which he treated with a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.

In July 2006, he underwent a bilateral knee replacement without complications. Following surgery, he was treated for pain with patient-controlled epidural analgesia and rescue doses of Dilaudid and Nubain. He was later [...]

Patient’s brain bleed mistaken for migraine

In the early morning hours of May 28, 2005, a 29-year-old woman presented to a community hospital emergency department by ambulance with a headache, vomiting and diminished consciousness.

The ambulance personnel allegedly made an inaccurate report to two nurses that the plaintiff had a history of migraines. The emergency room physician sent her home without a [...]

Doctor’s testimony thwarts two appeals by insurance co.

A union ironworker injured his back after lifting heavy railings at Fenway Park. He was diagnosed with disc herniations at the L3-L4 levels and eventually underwent microdiscectomies performed by a Norwood doctor in May 2009.

The employee’s claim for workers’ compensation benefits was initially denied by the insurer; a conference later took place before an administrative [...]

Report: Retail-clinic use has skyrocketed

A new study by Rand Corp. has revealed that the use of retail medical clinics is rising swiftly, and users tend to be younger, wealthier and in better health overall than their peers who went to a physician’s office or an emergency room for care, according to Modern Physician.

Rand researchers found that the use of [...]

Study: Docs often fail to report child abuse

Pediatricians and other primary care providers are good at identifying physical injuries in children that might be the result of abuse, but they are not as good at judging when to report those cases to authorities, according to a study led by a doctor at Boston Medical Center.

Researchers compared how primary care providers responded to [...]

AMA launches patient Rx app

The American Medical Association has released “My Medications,” a new smartphone application created to help patients store and share their health information, according to Modern Physician.

The app, which is available for 99 cents through iTunes, allows users to store data about their current medications, drug allergies and immunizations. Also, the app’s functionality lets patients e-mail [...]

Physicians are no longer notified of data bank checks

Doctors will no longer be notified if someone is checking their record in the Health Resources and Services Administration’s National Practitioner Data Bank, according to a final rule from the federal Department of Health and Human Services posted in the Federal Register.

Modern Physician reported that the rule, which was proposed on Feb. 17, will exempt [...]