< Back to Publications

Managing Your Practice | Special Report Claims Alert | Claims Alert | We Get Letters | Write On | New Law Alert | EMedicine Alert

For your convenience in this section the newsletters are available in a PDF format. The PDF format requires the installation of the free Adobe© Acrobat Reader for viewing and printing. Click on the icon below to download Acrobat Reader now.

Managing Your Practice

• Managing Your Practice #16 - No news is good news...an unsafe policy
• Managing Your Practice #15 - Efficient scheduling
• Managing Your Practice #14 - Patient education improves care and reduces liability
• Managing Your Practice #13 - Patient safety in a medical office practice
• Managing Your Practice #12 - Communication between physicians and other health care providers
• Managing Your Practice #11 - Protect your patient's right to privacy
• Managing Your Practice #10 - Guidelines to telephone etiquette
• Managing Your Practice #7 - Telephone advice programs—benefits and risks
• Managing Your Practice #6 - How to manage noncompliant patients
• Managing Your Practice #5 - Closing a medical practice upon retirement
• Managing Your Practice #4A - Faxing medical records and other confidential data
• Managing Your Practice #3 - Patient complaints: How to stop them before they start
• Managing Your Practice #2 - How to discharge a patient from your medical practice
• Managing Your Practice #1B - How long do we have to keep medical records? 

Return to top

Special Report Claims Alert

• Special Report Claims Alert #45- Ten Risk Reduction Resolutions for 2010
• Special Report Claims Alert #44- Interpreters and the medical practice: What every physician should know
• Special Report Claims Alert #43 - HITECH Act expands HIPAA requirements
• Special Report Claims Alert #42 - Telemedicine update: An industry’s evolution — its
  benefits and unresolved barriers
• Special Report Claims Alert #41 - Health literacy: A national dilemma
• Special Report Claims Alert #40 - Why, why, why do CQI?!
• Special Report Claims Alert #39 - When trouble comes knockin’… What to do when legal papers arrive
• Special Report Claims Alert #38 - How do I say I’m sorry? Let me count the ways
• Special Report Claims Alert #37B - Avoiding allegations of sexual misconduct
• Special Report Claims Alert #37A - Challenge for psychiatrists: collaborative treatment with non-physician co-treaters,
• Special Report Claims Alert #36 - The physician-patient relationship: An invitation to collaborate
• Special Report Claims Alert #35 - Electronic medical records: What to consider
• Special Report Claims Alert #34 - HIPAA’s Privacy Act: A compliance primer for the solo and small group practice
• Special Report Claims Alert #33 - Disclosure of unanticipated outcomes
• Special Report Claims Alert #32A - Medical Assistants: An update on the scope and limits of training
• Special Report Claims Alert #31 - The 20th year of AIDS
• Special Report Claims Alert #30 - Medication-related claims: The causes and their prevention 
• Special Report Claims Alert #27 - Failure to treat pain: “Elder abuse” claims threaten MDs
• Special Report Claims Alert #26A - California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act: Rules for privacy and release of medical information
• Special Report Claims Alert #25A - Use of non-physician clinicians in a medical practice
• Special Report Claims Alert #24A - Using e-mail to communicate with patients and health professionals — pros and cons
• Special Report Claims Alert #20A - Altered medical records and other charting hazards

Return to top

Claims Alert

Claims Alert #17 - Informed Consent Revisited: What is Expected of Physicians
Select state supplement:

• Alaska
• California
• Hawaii
• Idaho

Return to top

We Get Letters

• We Get Letters #14 (July 2008) Topics - Concierge practice; Store-based clinics
• We Get Letters #13 (January 2008) Topics - Identifying drug-seeking patients; Reducing liability exposure when treating chronic pain patients; Pain management agreement (Figure 1)
• We Get Letters #12 (November 2004) Topics - Specialists and primary care physicians; Triplicate prescriptions; Volunteering after retirement; Clarification of EMTALA
• We Get Letters #11 (May 2004) Topics - Sharing office space; Psychiatric medication management and EMTALA changes
• We Get Letters #10 (April 2003) Topics - EMTALA and on-call coverage
• We Get Letters #9 (August 2002) Topics - HIPAA electronic health care transactions; Privacy rule requirements; Websites
• We Get Letters #8 (October 2001, Hawaii only) Topics - Supervision of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists; Medical records and privacy of health care Information; Medical records and HIPAA; hiring medical assistants
• We Get Letters #7 (June 2001) Topics - HIPAA; Arbitration; Calling MIEC
• We Get Letters #6 (December 2000) Topics - Scheduling delays; The use of phone logs; Limits on prescribing medications; Reporting lapses of consciousness; Complementary and alternative medicine
• We Get Letters #5 (September 2000) Topics - Practice break-ups; Charging patients for phone calls; Charges for copying medical records; Medications; Surgery discharge advice; When a patient lies to his/her physician; Getting charts from the emergency department
• We Get Letters #4 (June 2000) Topics - Wrong number on pager; Creating a website; Legislation website; Refilling drugs for discharged patients; Interpreters; Voice recognition software; Mammograms; Special services for patients; Rubber stamp signatures
• We Get Letters #3 (December 1999) Topics - Communicating test results; Liposuction claims; In-office sale of health-related products; Computerized medical records; Recommended reading for physicians; Informed consent resource
• We Get Letters #2 (September 1999) Topics - Wrong-site surgery; Antibiotic overuse; Physician websites; Releasing psychiatric medical records
• We Get Letters #1 (July 1999) Topics - Needle stick injury; Medications; Practice guidelines; Medical records; Medical office staff; Telemedicine

Return to top

Write On!

• Write On #1 - Telephone communication: Did you hear what I heard?
• Write On #2 - Communication errors. Systems failures
• Write On #3 - Medication mismanagement: a costly prescription

Return to top

New Law Alert

• New Law Alert #16 (January 2010, California only) - New laws affecting California clinicians
• New Law Alert #16 (January 2009, Hawaii only) - New laws affecting Hawaii physicians
• New Law Alert #15 (March 2008, California only) - New laws affecting California clinicians
• New Law Alert #13 (August 2005, California only) - New laws affecting physicians, non-physician clinicians, and pharmacists
• New Law Alert #12 (May 2004, California only) - New laws affecting California physicians in 2004
• New Law Alert #11 (April 2002, California only) - New laws require CME for pain management, expand acupuncture treatment modalities, and more
• New Law Alert #10 (October 2001, California only) - California physicians who diagnose or treat certain types of cancer must distribute written educational information
• New Law Alert #9 (May 2001, California Edition ) - California legislature amends Confidentiality of Medical Information Act again
• New Law Alert #8 (January 2001, California Edition) - New law expands optometrists’ scope of practice
• New Law Alert #4 (March 2000, California Edition) - Patient safety and confidentiality of medical information
• New Law Alert #3 (May 1999) - Mammography Quality Standards Act final regulations go into effect

Return to top

EMedicine Alert

• EMedicine Alert #3 - "Difficult" patients in the Emergency Department
• EMedicine Alert #2 - Orientation for ED physicians and nurses reduces liability
• EMedicine Alert #1 - Allegations in emergency medicine: An analysis of MIEC claims history

Return to top