How to Practice Legal Medical Procedures
If you have the ability to practice medicine, you have endured years of schooling, residency and more depending on the practice area you have chosen. Practicing legal medicine is important to remaining licensed, keeping malpractice insurance premiums down and preserving a good reputation. To do so, you must maintain the standards specific for your practice area.
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Things You'll Need
- License to practice medicine
- Attorney
- Written medical malpractice standards specific to your state
Instructions
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Meet with an attorney to discuss your malpractice liability. Oftentimes, hospitals have in-house counsel to assist with legal issues. If you are not affiliated with a hospital, an attorney specializing in health law or medical malpractice can offer a wealth of information in regard to limiting your malpractice liability. Medical malpractice issues are regulated, for the most part, by state law. Therefore, it is important to seek advice from legal counsel licensed in your state.
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Create an informed consent document to be signed by the patient. Standard forms are readily available from groups such as the American Medical Association and many practice groups. Also, in-house counsel at your hospital or an attorney will have access to standard forms.
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Create standards and guidelines in accordance with the medical-legal issues specific to your practice. Guidelines should be modeled after the accepted standard of care for your particular practice area. The standard of care is defined as the level of care that a similarly qualified treater would provide. Each practice area, or procedure, has a standard of care that must be followed, at a minimum, to best avoid malpractice liability. An example would be creating guidelines for a provider to place an IV based on the methods a similarly qualified treater would place an IV.
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Follow the guidelines you have established for yourself. It is impossible to practice medicine and completely avoid a potential medical malpractice claim against you, but by following the standard of care for your practice area, you can limit the potential liability.
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Tips & Warnings
Medical malpractice is a constantly changing area of law. The in-house counsel at your hospital or your attorney can keep you abreast of these changes.
Much information is available on the Internet in regard to medical malpractice. These resources can serve as a good starting point to educate yourself. For example, the University of Washington School of Law offers updated resourced to be aware of the most recent case law and legislation.
Continuing education does not limit your malpractice liability. Courses specific to legal issues and recent trends in regard to the standard of care in your practice area, however, can be very helpful in modifying your practice methods.
Medical malpractice liability is a serious concern for a health care provider. An attorney should always be consulted to answer any questions.
References
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