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MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
of the statute of limitations. Trust in your counsel, and let them be
aggressive.
If you have to testify: Remember that you're the clinician. Be confident that you've been trained and educated to care for patients and
make clinical decisions in their best interests. Lawyers have been
trained to argue, think critically, question and advocate for their
clients. They may act as if they know your job better than you do, but
that's definitely not true. Also, even the calmest lawyers get frustrated
by the answer, "I don't recall."
Tragic things will always happen in healthcare facilities, and there
will always be human error. It's how you defend claims — and keep
mistakes minimized and isolated — that will determine how often you
are sued, and the outcomes of suits. OSM
Mr. Bevilacqua (jackbev33@g mail.com) is an independent healthcare compliance and privacy consultant based in the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., area.
J A N U A R Y 2013 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
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