Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4
Dermatology and Pathology Arrangements: Navigating the Compliance Risks
Purchased service arrangements, establishing in-house professional pathology services,
conducting technical component histology within a dermatology practice, and electronic
medical records technology donations are ways that dermatology practices are responding
to the current health care delivery and payment changes. This article will provide a general
framework for navigating the compliance risks and structure considerations associated
with these relationships between dermatologists and pathologists.
Semin Cutan Med Surg 32:185-194 © 2013 Frontline Medical Communications
MORE
Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4
Drug Safety: Implications for the Dermatologist and Dermatopathologist
The recent decades have seen a plethora of drugs removed from the world-wide market
place over safety concerns and reported adverse events. In some cases, drugs with
significant reports of adverse drugs events (ADEs) have remained on the market with either
a Black Box warning, strict prescribing guidelines, or both. It has been reported that more
than 2,000,000 Americans are harmed by ADEs each year. The financial costs associated
with ADEs are staggering with over $170 billion spent annually in the United States as a
result of ADEs. The implications for the dermatologist and dermatopathologist are daunting
for the skin is the organ most frequently affected by ADEs. Many cases of drugs removed
from the market are preceded by the filing of one or more product liability lawsuits. This
means the dermatologist could be brought under claims of negligence, strict liability,
breach of warranty, and consumer protection claims. The potential implications for the
dermatologist or dermatopathologist are discussed along with an introduction to the legal
process, which comes into play with the filing of the product liability lawsuit.
Semin Cutan Med Surg 32:195-198 © 2013 Frontline Medical Communications
MORE
Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4
Employee Contract Issues for Dermatologists
Employees and employers routinely face negotiating and preparing physician employment
contracts. It is important for both sides to know and understand the basic information on
what a comprehensive employment contract for a dermatologist should contain. There are
various employment contract provisions from both the employee’s perspective and the
employer’s perspective that must be considered when preparing physician employment
contracts. This article provides basic advice and recommendations on requirements that
should be included in such contracts. It suggests legal pitfalls that can be avoided through
various contract clauses.
Semin Cutan Med Surg 32:236-241 © 2013 Frontline Medical Communications
MORE
Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4
HIPAA, Dermatology Images, and the Law
From smart phones to iPads, the world has grown increasingly reliant on new technology.
In this ever-expanding digital age, medicine is at the forefront of these new technologies.
In the field of dermatology and general medicine, digital images have become an important
tool used in patient management. Today, one can even find physicians who use their
cellular phone cameras to take patient images and transmit them to other physicians.
However, as digital imaging technology has become more prevalent so too have concerns
about the impact of this technology on the electronic medical record, quality of patient care,
and medicolegal issues. This article will discuss the advent of digital imaging technology in
dermatology and the legal ramifications digital images have on medical care, abiding by
HIPAA, the use of digital images as evidence, and the possible abuses digital images can
pose in a health care setting.
Semin Cutan Med Surg 32:199-204 © 2013 Frontline Medical Communications
MORE
Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4
LASERS and the LAW: What the Dermatologist Needs to Know
Dermatologic laser surgery is a continuously evolving field of medicine. According to the
American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, over 100 million laser and light source cosmetic
procedures were performed by its members in 2003. Procedures, which include hair
removal, nonablative treatments, as well as removal of pigmented lesions, tattoos, and
unwanted vascular lesions, have revolutionized this field. With an increasing number of
physicians and nonphysicians performing these procedures and with the availability of
increasingly powerful laser technologies, the potential for problems and their legal consequences
continue to increase. This article will address the concept of negligence and the
potential for a resultant medical malpractice lawsuit that may arise in such a setting.
Inherent in this issue are the associated problems that arise when these procedures are
performed by physician extenders. An understanding of the basic principals of a cause of
action in medical malpractice will likely protect a physician from losing such a case in a
court of law.
MORE