Whitney A High

Guest Editor for the following articles:

Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4

Dermatology and Pathology Arrangements: Navigating the Compliance Risks

Bridget Cougevan, JD | Jenny McGovern, JD | Jane Pine Wood, JD
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
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Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4

Drug Safety: Implications for the Dermatologist and Dermatopathologist

John M Restaino, Jr, DPM, JD, MPH
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
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Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4

Employee Contract Issues for Dermatologists

Christopher E. Brown, JD | George F Indest, III, JD, MPA, LLM
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
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Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4

HIPAA, Dermatology Images, and the Law

Allan C. Halpern, MD | Brooke Rothstein, BA | Noah Scheinfeld, MD, JD
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
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Dec
2013
Vol. 32. No. 4

LASERS and the LAW: What the Dermatologist Needs to Know

David J Goldberg, MD, JD
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.
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