AHLA's monthly podcast featuring health lawyer and blogger Norm Tabler's informative and entertaining take on recent health law and other legal developments. Sponsored by Coker Group.
To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.
AHLA's monthly podcast featuring health lawyer and blogger Norm Tabler's informative and entertaining take on recent health law and other legal developments. Sponsored by Coker Group.
To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.
Support for A H L A and the following message comes from Coca Group, a national healthcare advisory firm working with hospitals and physician groups. KR group assists healthcare providers in their pursuit for a sound business model and an enhanced patient experience. For more information, visit KR group.com.
Speaker 2:Hi, I'm Norm Taber with this much addition of the lighter side of health law. Oscar Wild was right. Oscar Wild famously said, no good deed goes unpunished. And he was right. If you don't believe it, just ask nurse. Olga Metta of Newark's. Beth Israel Med Center. Olga, like everyone else in the country, is concerned that she and her colleagues don't have enough personal protective equipment for the Covid 19 onslaught. Unlike most of us, Olga did something about it. She personally raised$12,000 for the cause, bought 500 face masks, 4,000 shoe covers, and 150 jumpsuits, and she distributed them to her coworkers. Did Olga receive recognition from Beth Israel for her initiative and generosity? Well, sort of. The hospital suspended Olga for quote, inappropriately distributing unauthorized medical supplies against policy. And of course, it's not like there's an emergency that would warrant an exception to policy. The hospital's motto must be policy before health. Yes, but it could have been so much worse. You've probably heard some variation on this story. A young woman is away from home in her first year of college. Her parents open a letter from her. Page one says, I know you won't like this, but I've dropped out of school to get married to the older guy who runs the shop where I got my tattoos. College wasn't doing anything for me, plus I lost my scholarship because of the felony conviction from that drug mix up. Page two says, actually mom and dad, none of that is true. I just wanted you to have some perspective. When I tell you the truth, I got a D in English Lit. That story came to mind when I recently read this heart-stopping headline in Becker's Covid 19 kills 13% of people age 80 years or older. I know a lot of people in that age group. It's not too far from mine. So if 13% of them are about to die, I'm concerned. Heck, I'm terrified. Well, when I read the fine print and the article, it's not 13% of people over 80. As the headline said, it's 13% of people over 80 who contract Covid 19. I'm like the parents in the story. I'm not happy about the truth, but I'm relieved. It's not as bad as I first thought Martin saves the world. If Martin Sre didn't exist, would have to make him up. You remember Martin, the pharma executive who had a monopoly on a life-saving HIV drug and raised the price by thousands of percent, thereby becoming the most hated man in America when he was indicted for securities violations, he invoked the I am a jerk defense, arguing that he wasn't really indicted for violating the the law. He was indicted because he was such a jerk. The jury concluded that being a jerk is not a good defense. He was convicted then while in prison, he was sued for an unpaid debt. He invoked the I was an idiot defense arguing that his debt was unenforceable because he had been an idiot to take out such a stupid loan. Now, there's a third chapter. Martin has petitioned to be furloughed from prison. Is it to avoid catching Covid 19 in prison? No. It's so that he can use his great mind to find a cure for the dreaded virus. I'll keep you up to date. Sorry, I don't have the chart in front of me. I bet you've heard this response when you've asked about a patient quote. Sorry, I don't have the chart in front of me so I can't comment. Sometimes the response seems reasonable, sometimes it doesn't. You decide which is true. In this case, Danielle Miller placed her grandpa, Paul Tyler in a Pennsylvania nursing home back in 2012 and named herself as primary contact as Christmas approach. Last year, Danielle called the nursing home to arrange her annual Christmas visit to Grandpa Paul. She was shocked when the response from the nursing home was something like, oh him. He died back in October and we had him cremated naturally. Danielle wanted to know why she hadn't been notified. When Grandpa Paul died, that's when the administrator gave his response quote. I don't have the chart in front of me so I can't comment about it. Apparently patients die and get cremated without notice. So often in that nursing home that the administrator needs to check the files to remind himself just which one was Grandpa Paul hold the Mayo. The Mayo Clinic is one of the most revered names in medicine. No wonder its medical school is flooded with applications every year for the few available slots. So 364 Applicants were overjoyed to receive letters of acceptance, but for 318 of them, the joy was short-lived. The next day those 318 applicants received a follow up email saying, hold the Mayo. Your acceptance letter was sent in error. You are not repeat, not accepted, but there's a tiny silver lining for those 318 applicants for the rest of their lives. They can say with a straight face. I was admitted to the Mayo Clinic Med School. Wanna see the letter? What's a joint like this doing in a guy like me? When Peter Savitz looked at his leg after knee replacement surgery, he asked, what's a joint like this doing in a guy like me? Why? Because according to his civil complaint, the joint was not the one Dr. Kang had promised. Dr. Kang moved to dismiss because Peter had not submitted an expert opinion with his complaint as required by the Nevada med mal statute, but the court ruled against Dr. Kang. Why? Because Peter was not alleging medical negligence. He was alleging fraud and misrepresentation. In other words, he didn't say Dr. Kang was negligent. He said he had pulled the old switcheroo by substituting one artificial joint for another. And allegations of Switcharoo don't require an expert's opinion. The case is Savitz versus Kang, Nevada Eighth Judicial District. Well, that's it for this month's edition of the Lighter Side of Health Law. I hope you enjoyed it. Check your A H H L A Weekly and Connections Magazine for the next edition.