Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

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CPC Practice Exam and Study Guide Package

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What makes a good CPC Practice Exam? Questions and Answers with Full Rationale

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2018 CPC Practice Exam Answer Key 150 Questions With Full Rationale (HCPCS, ICD-9-CM, ICD-10, CPT Codes) Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

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Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions and answers with full rationale

What it Takes to File a Medical Malpractice Claim

Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can be quite time consuming but if you have been a victim, it is your right to pursue a case. There’s nothing more tragic than suffering physical injury or disability or dying all because of a mistake done by a doctor during your medical treatment. It’s hard to accept one’s situation when it is caused by a medical error.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that each year, thousands of people die because of unnecessary surgery as well as medication and other errors in hospitals. For this reason, many health care providers such as physicians and hospitals have been sued with medical malpractice cases. In fact, President Barack Obama pointed out that the increasing cost of medical malpractice insurance for doctors is a significant factor in the rising costs of healthcare in the U.S. His administration has actually proposed a set of best practice guidelines to protect physicians from lawsuits.

Medical malpractice occurs when a physician or healthcare institution fails to apply the needed degree of care and skill in providing medical treatment to patients. When the required medical standards are not properly followed, medical malpractice also known as med mal can result. Different fields of specialization have different standards of care. The standards for a dermatologist, for example, differ from those of surgeons.

The first step in making a decision to file a med mal lawsuit is to determine whether you have been a victim or not. Although not all unfortunate incidents during medical treatment are caused by negligence on the part of the physician, patients have the right to pursue a case if they feel they were deprived of proper care. Consulting a legal professional is the right step to take to assess your situation.

When a decision is reached to file a case, the initial step is to determine the liability of medical practitioner. This is quite a challenging stage and may take some time because testimonies of experts and in depth investigations involving medical records and other important documents are required. Negligence has to be established clearly in order for a lawsuit to succeed. When a lawyer finds strong evidence, the physician or physicians involved are then given a written notification of the claims.

Filing a medical malpractice case has to be done as soon as possible. There are statutes of limitation or timeframe allowed to file a case that lawyers have to observe. Legal deadlines may vary from one state to another but usually it is between one and five years. In cases involving a minor, the deadline is extended until the person reaches the legal age.

A lawyer specializing in medical laws and other medical related issues is the best person who can assist patients contemplating on filing claims. Medical malpractice lawyers can help you determine the right legal steps to take and speed up the filing of the lawsuit in court. With their experience working with the medical law system and the hospital system, they are in a better position to advice patients on their rights and legal options.

For information on medical malpractice lawyers, visit Gallagher Law Firm, Louisiana lawyers and attorneys who specialize in personal injury, car and truck accidents, divorce, maritime law and more.

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Electronic File Cabinet For Medical Records

Choosing an electronic file cabinet for medical records has become popular over the last several years. Having paper files for patients in medical offices can take up a lot of space; especially if your medical practice expands with more patients. Plus, the time to retrieve patients files on a daily basis can be very time consuming when there are many other duties and responsibilities that need to be done. Health professionals will definitely want to research for a great document management software program to fit their needs.

There are many advantages of having a good electronic file cabinet. You will have the opportunity to import, store, find, and edit your documents right at your fingertips. Any paperwork you have, you will be able to scan them and, in turn, will go into an electronic in box. At that point, your document management system will allow you to file it in its proper place. It will be organized, stored and if you need to retrieve it, you will have easy accessibility to do that. You will be able to store all types of paperwork together no matter what format or file type.

So, if you have scanned copies, typed letters, drawings, emails and other documentation, they can be stored together in a patients file. When it comes to finding a particular file or piece of paper, you will be able to retrieve it quickly within seconds saving you much time. Editing will be quite easy as well. If you need to forward medical records onto another facility and there is some confidential information on there, you will be able to block parts of the document. You will be able to add or change information to any paperwork as well.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using this type of software program for more organized filing; especially medical records. This will ensure patients files are not misplaced or misfiled. Plus, you will be able to control security access of who is authorized to the files and what information they are allowed to have access to.

Take the time to research a few companies that have document management software systems. You will be able to find one that will be suitable for your business needs at an affordable price. Remember, you will save on money in the years to come with just less paper to purchase, file cabinets and storage space. Many medical professionals are using the electronic file cabinet to keep track of their patients in an organized and safe manner.

To learn more about electronic file cabinet, please visit our website.

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Texas court grants writ of mandamus for credentialing file documents

Case summary

The Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas (the "Court") granted a petition for writ of mandamus, requiring the trial court to vacate its order requiring a hospital to produce documents it contended were protected from discovery by the Texas medical peer review committee and medical committee privileges.

In Gambreezzi, P.A. v. Rockwall Regional Hospital, LLC, Gambreezzi, P.A., which is owned by Joel Ciarochi, MD, sued Rockwall (Texas) Regional Hospital (the "Hospital"), a physician-owned hospital. Ciarochi had held clinical privileges to perform anesthesia services at the Hospital, in which Gambreezzi held shares. The Hospital attempted to purchase Gambreezzi’s shares after Ciarochi terminated his employment with the anesthesia practice through which he provided services to the Hospital. This was attempted pursuant to a buy-back provision in the contract between Gambreezzi and the Hospital.

In August 2014, Gambreezzi brought suit against the Hospital, asserting a number of claims, including breach of contract. Ciarochi’s fundamental problem was dissatisfaction with the Hospital’s calculation of the compensation it would pay for the shares. As part of those proceedings, Ciarochi requested to review his credentialing file at the Hospital. On December 24, 2015, the Hospital’s counsel sent Gambreezzi’s counsel a letter stating that Ciarochi would be allowed to review, but not copy, his file.

Gambreezzi then requested additional documents, including those related to the Hospital’s buy-back of shares from another physician?Dr. Timothy Bray?who had also terminated his affiliation with the Hospital. The purpose of this request was to determine whether Bray had received more favorable compensation. This request included Ciarochi’s and Bray’s peer review and credentialing files. The Hospital objected on the grounds that the files were protected by the Texas medical peer review committee and medical committee privileges.

At a hearing to determine if the Hospital had to produce the documents, Gambreezzi asserted that not all of the documents in the files were protected by the Texas privileges and identified 53 specific pages that he alleged were not protected. The trial court reviewed those pages in camera and ordered that 50 pages should be produced, one should be produced in redacted form, and two pages didn’t need to be produced.

The Hospital said it would produce four pages of documents, as ordered by the trial court, but filed a writ of mandamus against the judge contending that the Texas medical peer review committee and medical committee privileges applied and precluded discovery. ­Gambreezzi countered that the Hospital failed to show that the documents fell within the scope of the privileges and were in fact ordinary "business records." Additionally, ­Gambreezzi argued that the Hospital waived the privileges when it allowed Ciarochi to review his credentialing file and produced four pages from Bray’s credentialing file.

After reviewing the documents in camera, the Court found that they related to Ciarochi’s credentialing or recredentialing and a variance report review in Bray’s credentialing file, meaning they were protected by the medical peer review committee privilege.

With respect to Gambreezzi’s argument that the Hospital waived the privileges by allowing Ciarochi to review his credentialing file, the Court cited Texas Occupations Code, section 160.007(e), which states, "Unless disclosure is required or authorized by law, a record or determination of or a communication to a medical peer review committee is not subject to subpoena or discovery and is not admissible as evidence in any civil judicial or administrative proceeding without waiver of the privilege of confidentiality executed in writing by the committee."

Gambreezzi argued that the December 24, 2015, letter qualified as a written waiver of the privilege, but the Court stated that the occupations code requires a written waiver to be executed by the chair, vice chair, or secretary of the medical review committee. The letter did not meet this requirement.

The Court also found that the Hospital did not waive the medical peer review committee privilege when it produced the pages from Bray’s credentialing file as it was complying with the trial court’s order.

 

Source: In re Rockwall Reg’l Hosp., LLC, No. 05-15-01554-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 2, 2016)

 

What does this decision mean for you?

J. Michael Eisner, Esq., of Eisner & Lugli in New Haven, Connecticut: In this decision, the court upheld the validity and scope of the very broad Texas "medical peer review privilege." This privilege covers initial credentialing of a physician by a medical review committee, as well as the committee’s subsequent review of the physician for purposes of reappointment/recredentialing. It also protects documents "generated" by a peer review committee or "prepared by or at the direction of the committee for committee purposes." In addition, it covers the minutes and recommendations of the committee, and its inquiries to outside sources and their responses.

Note that the scope of this privilege is extremely broad, unlike the peer review privilege in most states.

The moral to this story is that if a broad peer review statute can be enacted by your state legislature, it will provide very significant protection to the activities of physicians engaged in peer review.

The secret, of course, is getting past the formidable lobbying power of the trial lawyers and convincing your state legislature that such privileges are in the interests of the patients. If physicians are protected, they will be able to do their job without fear of baseless litigation, and will be able to protect patients from physicians who could cause them harm. If they are not protected, physicians will be subject to harassment through litigation, which obviously will greatly reduce their willingness to participate in the peer review process.

As regular readers know, my view is that restrictive peer review statutes have a very chilling effect on physicians. Why engage in peer review if one can be sued and have to spend time, effort, money, and emotional capital on dealing with trial lawyers?

HCPro.com – Credentialing and Peer Review Legal Insider