03 Mar Healthcare Management
9554Discussion Post response
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a groundbreaking health reform document that has helped many Americans gain the opportunity to have proper health insurance. However, one item of interest that was not included in this reform bill was that they did not have anything that reformed the liability issues around medical malpractice. I think two medical liability reform items have the most negligible impact on the healthcare system: pretrial screening panels and limiting attorney fees on individual cases.
The pretrial screening panels are “expert panels review malpractice cases at an early stage and provide opinions about whether claims have sufficient merit to proceed.” (Kachalia & Mello, 2011) This panel cannot limit the case from moving forward, but their viewpoint is admissible in a trial. This reform aims to reduce the number of unfounded cases that continue to trial and reduce the attorneys’ opportunity to litigate bad cases that cost money and tie up the system. One significant advantage to the healthcare system is that this reform will reduce the amount of defensive medicine practiced in the United States.
Defensive medicine has two legs, positive and negative. Positive defensive medicine is when a physician orders a test that is not indicated or required but would protect them from litigation. In a recent survey, they found “that 93 percent of specialists believe that they altered their clinical practice due to malpractice concerns, and 43 percent ordered clinically unnecessary imaging to protect themselves from lawsuits.” (Metzler & Meara, 2017) Negative defensive medicine is described as when a physician does not order a test for fear of litigation or moves out of that specific state where litigation rates are higher. A recent estimate of what defensive medicine costs annually is $56 billion.
Limiting attorneys’ fees can be expressed in two ways. First, they can determine the maximum value awarded at trial or a percentage of the award maximum. This would reduce the opportunity for attorneys to chase low-value, unmerited cases. Positively states that have these reforms would keep their physicians and maintain the continuity of care that they depend on daily.
References:
Kachalia, Allen,M.D., J.D., & Mello, Michelle M,J.D., PhD. (2011). New
Directions in Medical Liability Reform. The New England Journal of
Medicine, 364(16), 1564-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMhpr1012821
Metzler, I., & Meara, J. (2017, March 21). Medical liability reform: Evidence for legislative and alternative approaches. The Bulletin. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://bulletin.facs.org/2012/01/medical-liability/
Our website has a team of professional writers who can help you write any of your homework. They will write your papers from scratch. We also have a team of editors just to make sure all papers are of HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE. To make an Order you only need to click Ask A Question and we will direct you to our Order Page at WriteDemy. Then fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.
Fill in all the assignment paper details that are required in the order form with the standard information being the page count, deadline, academic level and type of paper. It is advisable to have this information at hand so that you can quickly fill in the necessary information needed in the form for the essay writer to be immediately assigned to your writing project. Make payment for the custom essay order to enable us to assign a suitable writer to your order. Payments are made through Paypal on a secured billing page. Finally, sit back and relax.
About Writedemy
We are a professional paper writing website. If you have searched a question and bumped into our website just know you are in the right place to get help in your coursework. We offer HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE Papers.
How It Works
To make an Order you only need to click on “Order Now” and we will direct you to our Order Page. Fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.
Are there Discounts?
All new clients are eligible for 20% off in their first Order. Our payment method is safe and secure.