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Floyd Arthur - California Fails to Raise Medical Malpractice Cap by Floyd Arthurhttp://carmoongroup.comMedical Malpractice and Prescribing PracticesThe final portion of the failed proposal should have been the least controversial – a provision mandating that doctors check the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database before prescribing controlled substances. The database was established in 2009 – a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Justice and the state. However, participation in the system, which is available to both prescribers and pharmacies and is meant to alert them when patients are filling multiple prescriptions for controlled substances, is voluntary, and utilization has been low.Making use of the already existing database mandatory, proponents argued, could in theory prevent the kind of overprescribing of dangerous medicines that led to David Pack’s children’s deaths.Nonetheless, opponents of Prop. 46, funded an ad campaign against the use of CURES, calling it “vulnerable to hackers,” and warning Californians that their personal medical information could be subject to unwanted scrutiny if the proposition passed. (The ads ignored the fact that CURES had been existence for 6 years and had never been hacked.)Despite the failure of the law, David Pack and other proponents of Prop. 46 have vowed to bring a similar measure back to the voters next year.Floyd Arthur #floydarthurhttp://floydarthur.info
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CALIFORNIA FAILS TO RAISE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAP BY FLOYD ARTHURwww.CarmoonGroup.com and www.Floyd-Arthur.com
A CONTROVERSIAL BALLOT MEASURE THAT WOULD HAVE RAISED THE CAP ON DAMAGE AWARDS FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING
WOULD HAVE RAISED THE AMOUNT PATIENTS WHO PREVAIL IN A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES CAN RECEIVE FOR NON-
ECONOMIC DAMAGES FROM $250,000TO $1.1 MILLION. IT ALSO CALLED FOR DRUG TESTING OF PHYSICIANS WITHIN 12
HOURS OF AN "ADVERSE EVENT" AND RANDOMLY IF THERE WERE SUSPICIONS OF DRUG USE, AND REQUIRED PHYSICIANS
KILLED BY A WOMAN WHO WAS DRIVING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF PRESCRIPTION PAIN KILLERS AND THE MUSCLE
RELAXANT FLEXERIL IN 2005. AFTER THE INCIDENT, PACK AND HIS WIFE, WHO WAS ALSO INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT,
LEARNED THAT THE WOMAN HAD BEEN ARRESTED FOUR TIMES IN THE PAST FOR DUI. INCENSED, THEY TRIED TO SUE THE
NO ATTORNEY WOULD TAKE THE PACK'S CASE, CITING THE STATE'S LOW NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGE CAP AS THE CAUSE.
(ATTORNEY'S TYPICALLY TAKE CASES LIKE THE PACK'S ON CONTINGENCY, TAKING A PORTION OF ANY AWARD AS THEIR FEE.)
NOR IS THE PACK'S CASE UNUSUAL. CALIFORNIA'S "PAIN AND SUFFERING" CAP IS OFTEN GIVEN AS THE REASON WHY
ATTORNEYS AVOID MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES INVOLVING THE POOR, CHILDREN OR THE ELDERLY, WHO ARE UNLIKELY
CALIFORNIA'S DRACONIAN DAMAGE CAP-THE LOWEST IN THE NATION-HAS BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE 1975. BY CONTRAST,
NONETHELESS, OPPONENTS OF THE MEASURE WARNED THAT QUADRUPLING THE STATE'S MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAP ALL
CARE COSTS AND EVEN FORCE SOME OF PHYSICIANS TO LEAVE THE STATE. A BARRAGE OF ADVERTISEMENTS, FUNDED IN
PART BY PHYSICIAN GROUPS, TOLD CONSUMERS THAT THE LAW COULD INCREASE HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS BY $1,000 PER YEAR.
THE LAW'S PROVISION REQUIRING DRUG TESTING WITHIN 12 HOURS OF AN "ADVERSE" EVENT WAS UNREALISTIC AND FAR
PROPONENTS THAT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF IMPAIRED DOCTORS EXIST. ESTIMATES OF THE DEGREE OF SUBSTANCE
ABUSE AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS VARY WIDELY. HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO A 2007 REPORT RELEASED BY THE
THERE ARE CURRENTLY 878,000 LICENSED PHYSICIANS, 2.7 MILLION WORKING NURSES, AND ABOUT 15,000 MEDICAL
TECHNICIANS, NURSE ASSISTANTS AND OTHER ANCILLARY STAFF IN THE UNITED STATES, THAT TRANSLATES TO AN INFINITE
THE FINAL PORTION OF THE FAILED PROPOSAL SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE LEAST CONTROVERSIAL - A PROVISION MANDATING
DATABASE BEFORE PRESCRIBING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES. THE DATABASE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2009 - A JOINT EFFORT
BETWEEN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND THE STATE. HOWEVER, PARTICIPATION IN THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS
MAKING USE OF THE ALREADY EXISTING DATABASE MANDATORY, PROPONENTS ARGUED, COULD IN THEORY PREVENT THE
SUBJECT TO UNWANTED SCRUTINY IF THE PROPOSITION PASSED. (THE ADS IGNORED THE FACT THAT CURES HAD BEEN
NEED HELP MAKING A DECISION ABOUT COVERAGE OR HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT A POLICY THAT'S ALREADY IN PLACE, FEEL
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