Top 8 Legal Eagle articles from 2018

WHAT LEGAL ISSUE CAN I FACE AFTER OPENING A MEDSPA? Dr. Broke has been in practice for 20 years and has noticed that medical spas are opening around him with success. He works in a jurisdiction that has limited rules relative to supervision, so Dr. Broke decides to open his own medical spa to increase his income. But within a year, he has over five medical malpractice lawsuits and three complaints to his local state Board of Medical Examiners. What are his legal issues? Dr. Goldberg answers this question in this Legal Eagle article. (Studio Romantic - stock.adobe.com)

DOES EHR INCREASE OR DECREASE LIABILITY? Dr. EMR has spent money to implement a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) system in his office. He waited as he saw early-adopting peers struggle with EHR implementation, but is now convinced that an electronic system would decrease his medical legal liability and allow him to provide better patient care. Recently, several colleagues have questioned his decision because they are certain it would increase liability. Who is right? Dr. Goldberg solves the case in this Legal Eagle article. (terovesalainen - stock.adobe.com)

I LISTENED TO MY STAFF, HOW CAN I BE SUED? Dr. Burn works in a very busy predominantly medical dermatology office and is often so busy he doesn't have time to take a patient’s medical history. One day, a patient presented to the office with a burn to his finger. The patient told the medical assistant that the chemical burn was caused by hydrofluoric acid, but the medical assistant only told Dr. Burn that the patient had a “burn” on his finger. Dr. Burn did not ask any further questions of the patient, diagnosed the patient with a second degree burn and prescribed topical antibiotics. Due to the misdiagnosis, the patient's finger had to be amputated. The patient filed a lawsuit against Dr. Burn, but was Dr. Burn liable? Dr. Goldberg gives his insight in this Legal Eagle article. (©OksanaSlepko/Shutterstock.com)

CAN SOCIAL MEDIA PUT ME AT RISK OF LOSING MY LICENSE? Dr. Jam is a successful medical and cosmetic dermatologist with 25 years of experience and has recently learned to optimize social media platforms to further his practice. He has videotaped a series of musical/dance surgery episodes and uploaded them onto multiple social media sites. All patients signed the requisite release for such use, but some unhappy patients decided to file medical malpractice complaints for issues they claim resulted from his interest in music rather than their care. Is Dr. Jam in trouble? Does a similar case exist? Will he lose his license? Dr. Goldberg discusses this unique case in this Legal Eagle article. (©TylerOlson/Shutterstock.com)

MY EMPLOYEE HAS A NEEDLESTICK INJURY. NOW WHAT? Dr. Needle is a dermatologist and medical director of a medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology practice. He was recently presented with an issue where a physician was performing an excision on a patient who was on blood thinners, but the patient requested that his blood thinners not be stopped for the procedure. During the surgery, the physican was stuck with an 18-gauge needle. Can Dr. Needle test the patient for HIV and hepatitis B and C even if the patient does not consent to voluntary testing? Dr. Goldberg outlines crucial next steps in this Legal Eagle. (auremar - stock.adobe.com)

CAN I BE SUED FOR OFF-LABEL USE WITHIN STANDARD OF CARE? Several years ago, Dr. Bug treated an adult woman for scabies. At the time, the treatment of choice was lindane, but Dr. Bug learned during his dermatology residency that one application of the medication was not usually effective and that adult patients should be treated with topical lindane for three consecutive nights. This particular patient was treated for two consecutive nights and complained of symptoms she thought resulted from the topical. She filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit based on misuse of lindane, which went to trial. Did Dr. Bug misuse lindane? Find out what Dr. Goldberg thinks in this Legal Eagle. (JJAVA - stock.adobe.com)

IS THIS A HIPAA VIOLATION? Two years ago, Dr. Beauty hired several independent contractors on an hourly basis to improve the marketing of his practice. In order to provide them easy patient demographic accessibility, he provided them full access to his patients’ electronic medical records. One patient became aware and filed a HIPAA complaint. Dr. Beauty feels that although the involved activity may represent HIPAA violations, no penalties have been assessed to small practices such as his. Is this true? Dr. Goldberg provides answers in this Legal Eagle. (©SherryYatesYoung/Shutterstock.com)