November 9, 2023 by matray

Below are some headlines and article synopses from the November 2023 issue of Medical Liability Monitor. To read the articles in entirety, please subscribe today.

Court of Appeals Declares Law Granting Civil-Liability Immunity to Healthcare Professionals During COVID Pandemic Unconstitutional
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently decided that the state’s law granting immunity from civil liability to healthcare providers and institutions acting in good faith during the COVID-19 pandemic is unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals also rejected the Mayo Clinic’s argument that the claim was prohibited by the PREP Act because the ABG stick at the heart of the case did not fall within the federal law’s definition of a COVID-19 countermeasure …

Curi Holdings, Constellation Complete Merger to Offer Scale the Modern Healthcare Delivery System Requires
Curi Holdings and Constellation closed their previously announced merger last month. Both mutual holdings companies, the combined entity now operates under the name Curi, creating a unified national brand. With more than $2 billion of consolidated assets and nearly $400 million in revenue, the merged organization now serves more than 50,000 physicians, healthcare providers and organizations across the U.S. …

U.S. District Court of Minnesota Sets Aside Record Noneconomic Damage Award
The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota conditionally granted a motion for a new trial last month on the issue of noneconomic damages in the case Thapa v. St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates. The plaintiff has until November 28 to file a letter stating whether he will agree to remit the jury’s award of noneconomic damages from $110 million to $10 million. If the plaintiff chooses to remit, the court will enter judgment. If the plaintiff chooses not to remit, the court will schedule a new trial on the issue of noneconomic damages …

NJ PURE Exiting Medical Professional Liability Insurance Market
New Jersey Physicians United Reciprocal Exchange (NJ PURE) announced it is exiting the medical professional liability insurance marketplace and has entered into a relationship designed to offer its insureds access to a leading A-rated medical liability carrier with The Doctors Company Risk Retention Group (RRG). NJ PURE will nonrenew all medical professional liability insurance policies during a period not to exceed three years. Nonrenewals will start with policies with effective dates on or after Nov. 30, 2023 …

Despite Increased Reliance on Advanced Practice Providers, their Claims Rate is Shrinking
A new report from Candello discovered that despite the healthcare delivery system’s increasing reliance on advance practice providers (APPs), the overall claims rate for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) appears to be declining. According to Candello’s analysis of 65,754 MPL claims closed between 2012 and 2021, the proportion of MPL claims in which an NP or PA had contributory involvement was just 8%, and they were named as defendants in only 2% of cases. Adjusted for practice population increases, it appears the overall claims rate for APPs declined …

US Senator Questions Google About its AI Healthcare Chatbot Technology
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, urged Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai to provide greater clarity into his company’s deployment of Med-PaLM 2, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot currently being tested in healthcare settings. In a letter sent last month to the multinational technology company, Sen. Warner expressed his concern about reports of inaccuracies in the technology, calling on Google to increase transparency, protect patient privacy and ensure ethical guardrails ...

Integris Group Announces Purchase of MedMal Direct Insurance Co.
Integris Group announced last month that it has entered an agreement to purchase 100% of the stock of MedMal Direct Insurance Co., a direct-to-consumer medical professional liability (MPL) insurance company, and its agency CorePRO Insurance from Physicians Trust, Inc. (PTI). The transaction is expected to close by late December 2023, subject to PTI shareholders and regulatory approval …

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