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Biomedical subjects

Bryan A Liang

Publications and source records attributed to Bryan A Liang.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Layperson and physician perceptions of the malpractice system: implications for patient safety.

The malpractice tort system functions upon the assumption that the medical profession defines its own standard of care. Hence, clinical assessments should theoretically mirror legal ones. However, if there is a conflict between the two, this conflict may reflect a perceived bias of the system either for or against a party. This exploratory study attempts to determine whether such a bias could exist. Physicians and layperson jury pool members were asked to review 10 jury verdict case scenarios. Respondents were asked first to assess whether the defendant physician provided clinically appropriate care; they were then asked to predict what the jury in the case actually decided. Laypersons showed significantly better agreement with actual jury verdicts on clinical assessment and success in jury verdict prediction than physicians. Both physicians and laypersons switched the favored party from clinical assessment to verdict prediction, with a vast majority of these changes being made from defendant to plaintiff. These results were consistent overall and when parsing assessments by case verdicts. Thus, laypersons and physicians may perceive a similar bias toward plaintiffs in the malpractice system. If these results can be generalized, the malpractice system may be inducing behavior that has a negative impact on patient safety.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

Definitions and implications of death.

Understanding the legal definition of whole-brain death is imperative for hematologists and oncologists who deal with end-of-life patients on a regular basis. At present, only whole-brain death in which there is no function of the upper brain or brain stem is legally recognized as legal death. Those advocating expansion of the current definition of death to encompass patients with higher brain death and brain-absent anencephalic infants cite increasing the organ pool and decreasing unnecessary treatment and costs as benefits. Those advocating a more narrow definition of death typically fear being misdiagnosed or prefer the traditional cardiopulmonary definition for personal and religious reasons. As medical technology advances, offering new hope to both the critically injured patients who might be potential donors and to those patients in need of donated organs, the definition of death will continue to be a topic of passionate debate.

Anencephaly↗
PubMed2002

Informed consent: issues for providers.

Although obtaining informed consent is an important part of the hematologist/oncologist's practice, understanding the legal consequences can assist the practitioner to understand why it is necessary to disclose as much information as he or she does. By following the standard of care used in the state of practice, the physician can decrease the risk of being sued by patients for lack of informed consent, thus fulfilling his or her legal and ethical duties by providing the patient with all the information necessary to make an informed decision.

Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

An overview of United States law.

A broad array of legal concerns affects everyday practice in medicine. Through an understanding of the basic tenets of the law, providers may be able to better understand the risks, obligations, and rights associated with the law. Further, this understanding may assist them in more effective patient advocacy in their practices.

Jurisprudence↗
PubMed2002

The rules of fraud and abuse.

It appears that the government is taking a no-holds-barred type approach to combating fraud and abuse of government programs by enacting new and by expanding existing statutes designed for this purpose. It is clear now, more than ever, that due to the abuse suffered by federal health care programs, the government, by and through its respective agencies, is using every resource available to track, identify, and prosecute those who defraud and attempt to defraud these programs. It is therefore imperative that hospitals and health care professionals take the necessary precautions to ensure that inadvertent violations of these statutes do not occur.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗
PubMed2002

Medical information, confidentiality, and privacy.

State laws and accreditation requirements dictate the form, ownership, and substance of medical records, as well as requirements for storage, access, and confidentiality. There are limited exceptions to these requirements but they are highly circumscribed. Federal law also outlines requirements to ensure the privacy of patient-identifiable information. Thus, providers must be aware of these rules both to protect patient information from being abused and to understand the affirmative obligations they have so as to avoid the significant penalties associated with breach of these provisions.

Confidentiality↗