The Medical Malpractice Curriculum for Emergency Physicians
MALPRACTICE
Malpractice is a topic that is often avoided in medical training. We arguably spend more time learning to perform once-in-a-lifetime/never-in-a-lifetime procedures than we learn about something that is very likely to occur in our career. According to the American Medical Associations’ Physician Practice Information survey in 2007-2008, 75% of emergency physicians over the age of 55 years old reported having ever been sued. Additionally, 30.9% of emergency medicine respondents reported being sued at least two times, with 109 claims per 100 physicians who responded. [1] Below is what I consider to be the unofficial medical malpractice curriculum, with resources that highlight what we can learn about patient outcomes and safety, documentation, what to expect from legal proceedings.
Doctors and Litigation: The L Word by Dr. Gita Pensa
Listen at iTunes and Podbean https://thelword.podbean.com
We’re lucky at Brown EM to have an incredible resource in Gita Pensa, MD. After successfully defending her own malpractice case, she created a Radiolab-quality (seriously!) podcast walking us through the gritty details of being served, getting deposed by the plaintiff’s lawyers, dealing with expert witnesses, and her trial. It currently has 5 stars on iTunes with 11 episodes.
MedMalReviewer
www.medmalreviewer.com
MedMalReviewer provides a step-by-step walk through of real malpractice cases in order to improve physician’s medical knowledge and documentation. A huge advantage of MedMalReviewer is their use of redacted publicly available documents ranging from ED notes, nursing notes, and operative notes from the patient encounter to trial documents like the plaintiff complaint and trial proceedings. There are multiple cases available for review for free online.
The Expert Witness Newsletter
www.TheExpertWitnessNewsletter.com
This newsletter focuses on plaintiff and defendant expert witness opinions used in real malpractice lawsuits. Each newsletter focuses on a single lawsuit, starting with a brief summary, actual copies of the expert witness opinions, and MedMalReviewer analysis of the case.
So, You Have Been Sued! – An Information Paper (2004) by the Medical Legal Committee of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) - Ethics & Legal - Medical/Legal
https://www.acep.org/life-as-a-physician/ethics--legal/medical-legal2/medicallegal/
A primer on what to do after you have been named in a lawsuit. Best to read before you have been named in a lawsuit.
Medical Malpractice Insights by Charles A. Pilcher, MD, FACEP
Subscribe at https://madmimi.com/signups/124905/join?attempt_id=165714-157604555-12291652492-5894f0f924a50af268b0deb5e559e1e8ddb821bb
This monthly newsletter reviews a brief anonymized case summary, the result of the case, and the key takeaways from the final diagnosis with pertinent references to journal articles. The mission of Medical Malpractice Insights is listed as: 1) improve patient safety; 2) educate physicians; and 3) reduce the cost and stress of medical malpractice lawsuits.
Bouncebacks! Medical and Legal (2011) by Michael Weinstock, MD, Kevin Klauer, DO, EJD and Gregory Henry, MD
Available on Amazon for $48.96
According to Amazon.com “Read Bouncebacks! Medical and Legal for a thorough analysis of actual patient cases that resulted in involving the legal system to varying degrees. Specific steps are presented for improving patient safety and to assist you in avoiding lawsuits.”
Risk Management Monthly: Emergency Medicine by Gregory Henry, MD and Richard Bukata, MD
Podcast – Listen at www.ccme.org/riskMgmt/ ($150/year for residents, $240/year for attendings)
An 80-minute monthly podcast for emergency physicians reviewing closed claims. CME available.
The Medicolegal Briefs on EM:RAP by Michael Weinstock, MD and Matt DeLaney, MD
Podcast – Listen at emprap.org ($495/yr EM:RAP subscription)
The Medicolegal Briefs series, by Michael Weinstock, MD and Matt DeLaney, MD, makes an appearance every few months on EM:RAP. Some episodes review specific closed claims and the case outcome, whereas others provide an overview of common medicolegal questions stemming from the emergency department. The most recent episodes are:
Michael Weinstock, Matt Delaney. Medical Legal Briefs: Sepsis + PE EM RAP. Volume 21, Issue 8, 2020 – Aug 2020
Michael Weinstock. Medical Legal Briefs: Knee Dislocation. EM RAP. Volume 21, Issue 2, 2020 – Feb 2020
Michael Weinstock, Marc Calvert. Medical Legal Briefs: Discharge instructions. EM RAP. Volume 20, Issue 10, 2019 – October 2019
Michael Weinstock, Brad Goldman. Medical Legal Briefs: The case of back pain gone bad. EM RAP. Volume 20, Issue 8, 2019 – Aug 2019
Michael Weinstock, Matt Delaney. Medical Legal Briefs: The case of the wrist injury. EM RAP. Volume 20, Issue 6, 2019 – June 2019
Michael Weinstock, Matt Delaney. Medical Legal Briefs: Consultants. EM RAP. Volume 20, Issue 3, 2019 – Mar 2019
Michael Weinstock. Medical Legal Briefs: A case of chest pain. EM RAP. Volume 20, Issue 2, 2019 – Feb 2019
Michael Weinstock. Medical Legal Briefs: Pediatric medical malpractice. EM RAP. Volume 20, Issue 1, 2019 – Jan 2019
AUTHORS:
Kelly Wong, MD is a fourth year emergency medicine resident at Brown University
Jeffrey Gaines, MD is an Assistant Professor of emergency medicine at Brown University and President of the Medical Staff at Newport Hospital.
RESOURCES
Kane CK. Policy Research Perspectives — Medical Liability Claim Frequency: A 2007-2008 Snapshot of Physicians. Chicago: American Medical Association, 2010:1-7.