March 7, 2024 by matray

Below are some headlines and article synopses from the March 2024 issue of Medical Liability Monitor. To read the articles in their entirety, please subscribe today.

Study Finds Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Delivery Hampered by Trust, Training, Liability Fears
A new study discovered that despite broad optimism among healthcare professionals about the potential benefits of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) engagement in healthcare delivery, those on the front lines of medicine maintain grave concerns about the technology’s implementation. The report, titled ClinicAI Companions, reveals significant gaps between how clinicians use Gen AI in their personal lives, what they believe the benefits are for their practice, their concerns about implementation and their confidence in management/leadership to get implementation right. Two-thirds of survey respondents said they don’t trust their hospital/clinic leaders to effectively deploy Gen AI, and four out of five believe the technology will place them at a greater risk of medical liability claims …

Patient Frustration with U.S. Healthcare Surges
The complexity of navigating long waits for brief appointments, impersonalized care and perplexing insurance bills is causing a spike in frustration with the U.S. healthcare delivery system. According to a survey of more than 1,000 patients, 61% of respondents find the U.S. healthcare system to be a “hassle,” with 53% feeling it “treats patients more like a number than a person” …

More Than 134,000 Cancer Cases Undiagnosed During Start of COVID
More than 134,000 cancer cases went undiagnosed during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. Thirty-four percent of medical malpractice claims involving death or permanent disability are associated with an inaccurate or delayed diagnosis, and the medical professional liability industry has been anxious that the frequency of diagnosis-related claims could spike post-pandemic …

Philadelphia Medical Liability Filings Up 33% Since Venue Rule Change
Philadelphia experienced a large jump in the number of medical liability lawsuits filed in its court system last year, the first since the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania widened its venue rule for medical liability lawsuits. The updated venue rule took effect Jan. 1, 2023. Plaintiff attorneys filed 544 medical liability cases last year, a 33% increase from the average annual caseload during the three years prior to the pandemic, according to the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court’s trial division …

States Where Physician Assistants Have Wider Scope of Practice Experience Fewer Malpractice Payments
A recent 10-year study found no significant increase in medical malpractice payment reports (MMPRs) in states with permissive laws regulating the scope of practice for physician assistants (PAs), challenging longstanding concerns about patient safety. The study analyzed data from the National Practitioner Data Bank alongside state laws and regulations governing PA practice. Concerns have been raised by some in the medical community that permissive regulations could compromise patient safety and lead to an increase in medical liability claims. However, the findings of this study suggest otherwise. During the 10-year period from 2010 to 2019, states with permissive PA practice laws did not encounter a higher incidence of MMPRs when compared to states with more restrictive regulations. In fact, states permitting PAs to practice independently experienced a notable 58.3% reduction in PA MMPRs …

Filed Ballot Initiatives Ask Colorado Voters To Decide MedMal Litigation Rules
Plaintiff attorneys and healthcare/business leaders in Colorado recently filed competing ballot initiatives that will ask the state’s voters to decide in November the amount of recoverable damages in catastrophic injury and wrongful death lawsuits, whether certain records are accessible in medical malpractice litigation, whether to cap attorney fees at 25% of recovered damages, and whether to mandate that plaintiff attorneys disclose up front the expected litigation expenses their clients are responsible for paying and cap those costs at no more than 10% above the estimate. …

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