News in brief - July 21, 2003

New FSU medical school gets provisional accreditation - West Virginia launches liability cap - UNOS acts to aid living organ donors

New FSU medical school gets provisional accreditation

Florida State University's new medical school continues to march toward full accreditation status. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education recently upheld provisional accreditation of the school following a review of its third- and fourth-year curriculum.

In July, the school also opened three regional campuses in Orlando, Pensacola and Tallahassee.

The Florida Legislature launched the school in 2000. The school started its first class of 30 students in spring 2001, followed by a second class of 40 students last year. The first class will graduate in 2005.

West Virginia launches liability cap

Any medical malpractice lawsuit filed in West Virginia after July 1 is now governed by the $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages the Legislature imposed earlier this year. Physicians will be held responsible for only their portion of the damages, and plaintiffs will have payments they received through disability income, health insurance or other sources deducted from the jury award.

The West Virginia Supreme Court in a 4-1 vote last month rejected a request that the new law apply only to incidents that occurred after July 1, reducing the number of cases that would be affected by the new law.

UNOS acts to aid living organ donors

Actions designed to help facilitate living organ donations and to assess the medical risks involved in the procedure were taken by the United Network for Organ Sharing board of directors at its annual meeting held last month in Richmond, Va.

These actions include creating a certification process for living donor transplant programs, recommending a psychosocial evaluation to ensure that the living donor understands the risks involved, refining procedures for collecting follow-up data on living donors, and supporting the development of legislation in all states to allow employees up to 30 days paid leave if they become living organ donors.

Currently the federal government and 14 states provide some level of paid leave for living donors.