Thursday, October 30, 2014

Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorneys | Rising Health Care Costs

Visit us at:  www.portnerandshure.com


or call to speak with one of our experienced Maryland medical malpractice attorneys at (301) 854-9000 for a free consultation.


Insurance Company Compiling List of Efficient Doctors to Save Members Money


CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield CEO Chet Burrell announced earlier this week he wants to award members discounts for picking efficient doctors.  The insurer plans to begin keeping track of which doctors are most efficient in its physician directory as soon as 2016.  Then, when members choose a doctor that is on this list, they could receive a discount on their premium.  The goal of this plan is to help slow rising health care costs. 


CareFirst also uses the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program for more efficient and cost effective medical service.  In this program, a group of doctors "work together to treat patients with a goal of reducing unnecessary and improving the patients' overall health."  Further, if patients' health care costs come in under budget, the doctors get to share in some of CareFirst's savings.


Both of CareFirst's programs (Efficient Doctors Database and PCMH) can be extremely beneficial for our medical malpractice clients in Maryland.  With the possibility of saving money on insurance premiums, our clients can be persuaded to choose efficient doctors, thereby avoiding any potential medical malpractice claims.  A major cause of medical malpractice claims involves doctors who run unnecessary tests or do not run correct tests to help diagnose a patient and the patient gets more sick or injured in some way. 


Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider causes injury or death to a patient by failing to act within the applicable standard of care.  Many Maryland patients who enter surgery like to believe they have entrusted their life in the hands of a capable and careful surgeon.  Unfortunately, surgical errors are more common than one would like to believe.  In order to prove malpractice, there had to have been a breach of the standard of care and/or a failure to obtain informed consent. 


The experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Portner & Shure possess excellent knowledge, in addition to being familiar with the health care profession and standards of treatment.  In fact, Mr. Shure worked as in-house counsel for a national health care corporation and uses the knowledge he gained to help persuade insurance companies to provide our injured clients with benefits they are entitled to receive.


In every case we handle, our attorneys and staff work with numerous physicians and other experts to strengthen our claims.  There are many factors that impact the value of a medical malpractice claim.  It is important that your attorney understands how to properly evaluate damages in order to determine the full value of a claim and build a strong case for the jury.  Common damages for medical malpractice cases include:




  • medical expenses




  • lost wages




  • pain and suffering




  • loss of consortium




  • wrongful death




Surgical errors can cause serious harm to a patient, and if an injury of surgical error was caused through medical malpractice in Maryland, an experienced attorney from Portner & Shure can help you get the compensation you are entitled.


If you or a family member is the victim of an injury caused by medical malpractice in Maryland, an experienced attorney from Portner & Shure can help you get the compensation you are entitled.  If you would like a free legal consultation or if you would like more information on medical malpractice in Maryland, please feel free to contact our office at (301) 854-9000 or visit us on the web at www.portnerandshure.com


For those readers interested in reading the article, the link can found below:


http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2014/10/29/carefirst-wants-to-give-discounts-to-members-who.html


 


 




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