News in brief - Aug. 8, 2005

Study documents defensive medicine - ABIM introduces tool for internists - Nev. liability insurer hikes premiums - Harvard doctor wins education honor

Study documents defensive medicine

A new survey found emergency physicians most concerned about lawsuits are more likely to admit patients with cardiac symptoms and order more tests. The results were published online July 13 by Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Researchers surveyed 33 emergency physicians at two university hospitals to gauge the doctors' fear of medical liability lawsuits, then examined hospital records of 1,134 patients treated for symptoms suggestive of heart disease. The "high fear" group was more likely to admit patients with chest pain to ICU or a telemetry bed and to order chest radiography and a cardiac troponin.

ABIM introduces tool for internists

The American Board of Internal Medicine has released the Care of the Vulnerable Elderly Practice Improvement Module, the sixth in a series of self-evaluation tools.

Internists who complete the module will earn credit toward renewing their certificates, as well as continuing medical education credits. The ABIM said the module would be particularly relevant for general internists, geriatricians and others who manage elderly patients.

Practice Improvement Modules are computer-based tools that enable doctors to conduct a confidential self-evaluation of the medical care they provide. The new module includes Web links to information about common health problems in the elderly, tool kits developed by the American Geriatrics Society and resources on ways to improve care.

Nev. liability insurer hikes premiums

The Medical Liability Assn. of Nevada has raised its premiums by 14.8% starting July 1, a move that was not surprising to a medical community that had seen much larger increases over the last few years.

Premium increases were expected because tail coverage is subject to three different state statutes, said Lawrence P. Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Assn. Once all the coverage is included under recently approved legislation, rates should stabilize, he said.

Nevada voters in 2004 approved referenda that strengthened the state's $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages and limited attorney contingency fees. The measures already have helped recruit more physicians to Nevada, Matheis said.

Nevada Insurance Commissioner Alice A. Molasky-Arman approved the increase for MLAN, which insures nearly 1,000 physicians in the state. Another insurer, The Medical Protective Company, which insures only about 180 physicians, increased its rates by 9%, Molasky-Arman said.

Harvard doctor wins education honor

The Assn. of American Medical Colleges recognized Harvard Medical School professor Joan Y. Reede, MD, MPH, for her work as a mentor to aspiring minority physicians.

Dr. Reede is the sixth recipient of the Herbert W. Nickens, MD, Award, named for a former AAMC official.

Dr. Reede is associate professor of medicine, dean for diversity and community partnership, director of the Center of Excellence in Minority Health and Health Disparities, and director of Harvard's minority faculty development program.

She also is a member of the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health.

"She is, quite simply, one of the most important teachers of multicultural medicine and cultural competence at Harvard Medical School," said Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD, Harvard's dean of the faculty of medicine.

At Harvard, Dr. Reede developed a program to support the academic careers of underrepresented minorities and women and several programs to recruit and retain diverse students and faculty.

The award will be presented to Dr. Reede on Nov. 6 at the AAMC's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.