January 11, 2024 by matray

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

What Happens When Private Equity Takes Over a Hospital
Patients are more likely to fall, get new infections or experience other forms of harm during their stay in a hospital after it is acquired by a private equity firm, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School. Published last month in JAMA, the research is among a handful of recent nationwide analyses of how private equity takeovers affect the quality of patient care in hospitals. The findings come amid growing concerns about private equity’s increasing role in U.S. healthcare, with $1 trillion invested during the past decade …

How Electronic Health Records Contribute to Diagnostic Error in Ambulatory Settings
In a recent qualitative study approved by the Oregon Health Sciences University institutional review board, researchers examined the relationship between electronic health records (EHRs) and diagnostic errors, shedding light on the critical role EHRs play as the central repository for clinical information required for diagnostic accuracy. The study analyzed closed medical liability claims data from the CRICO malpractice insurance database, which represents more than 550 healthcare facilities, and highlights the urgent need for ongoing efforts to optimize EHR design, enhance interoperability, provide comprehensive training and establish robust safety surveillance measures to minimize diagnostic errors …

CRICO Reorganizes as Reciprocal RRG
In a strategic move aimed at improving operational efficiency, Controlled Risk Insurance Company Ltd. reorganized from a limited company to a reciprocal risk retention group. The reorganization took effect on Dec. 29, 2023, with CRICO Reciprocal inheriting all assets, rights, interests and responsibilities from CRICO Ltd. The CRICO insurance program includes all of the Harvard medical institutions and their affiliates, providing coverage to 32 hospitals, 17,000 physicians, more than 325 other healthcare organizations, and more than 130,000 other clinicians and employees …

Washington Supreme Court Overturns Medical Liability Statute of Repose
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled last month that a statute barring medical liability lawsuits filed more than eight years after the date of injury — even if the patient is unable to determine the cause of their injury within that time frame — violates the state’s constitution. In a 7-2 opinion, the Court determined the eight-year statute of repose limits specific plaintiffs from bringing medical malpractice claims and grants immunity to certain defendants from defined common law causes of action, violating the privileges and immunities clause of the Washington State Constitution, article I, section 12, guaranteeing “no law shall be passed granting to any citizen, class of citizens, or corporation other than municipal, privileges or immunities which upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens, or corporations” …

ATRF Publishes Annual ‘Judicial Hellholes’ Report, Medical Professional Liability Again Plays Determining Role
The American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) issued its 2023/2024 Judicial Hellholes report last month. The annual release documents abuses of the civil justice system in jurisdictions the pro-tort reform group says are among the most unfair and out of balance in the United States. The ATRF is a branch of the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), an umbrella organization exclusively dedicated to reforming the nation’s court system via a network of state-based liability-reform coalitions. As every year, medical professional liability issues played a significant role in which regions/jurisdictions received mention in the Judicial Hellholes report …

AHT Insurance Launches Psychedelic Therapy Liability Coverage
AHT Insurance last month launched TheraCover Psychedelics Insurance. TheraCover provides liability insurance protection for professionals and companies involved in bringing lawful uses of psychedelic medical therapies to market. According to the insurer, the risks and emerging exposures that those involved in psychedelics research face are among of the most challenging in the marketplace. TheraCover is designed to provide essential risk transfer, leveraging BRP Group’s suite of casualty insurance coverages — e.g. medical professional liability, general liability and cyber liability — to protect firms, leaders and professionals from third-party claims …

FTC Chief Gears up for a Showdown with Private Equity in Healthcare
A recent Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing one of the nation’s largest anesthesiology groups of monopolistic practices that drove up prices sharply is a warning to private equity (PE) investors that could temper their big push to snap up physician groups. During the past three years, FTC and Department of Justice officials have signaled they would apply more scrutiny to PE acquisitions in healthcare, including roll-up deals in which larger provider groups buy smaller groups in a local market ...

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